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JAPANESE 
COLOUR  PRINTS 

BY  LAURENCE  BINYON 

AND 

J.  J.  O’BRIEN  SEXTON 


148420 

MCMXXIII 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 
597-599  FIFTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK 


PRINTED  AND  MADE  IN  GREAT  BRITAIN 


DEDICATED 

TO 

MONSIEUR  RAYMOND 


Hzs/S 

4  t  2- 

-t\  7.  j-o 

fM. 


6 


KOECHLIN 


148  ±20 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 
Duke  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/japanesecolourpr01biny 


PREFACE 


The  plan  of  this  book  follows  the  plan  adopted  by  Fenollosa  in  his 
Outline  of  Ukiyo-ye  and  in  his  Masters  of  Ukiyo-ye  ;  that  is,  we  have 
not  dealt  with  the  subject  school  by  school,  or  master  by  master,  but 
period  by  period.  Only  by  such  a  treatment  can  the  true  relation  of  one 
master  to  another  be  understood,  or  the  whole  movement  of  Ukiyo-ye 
through  its  many  shifting  phases,  which  affect  all  the  artists  at  once,  be 
appreciated. 

In  each  chapter  we  give  an  account,  with  such  biographical  details  as 
are  available,  from  Japanese  sources,  of  the  artists  beginning  work  within 
the  period  covered  by  the  chapter.  These  data  are  followed  by  an  account 
of  the  movement  of  Ukiyo-ye  during  the  period,  and  an  appreciation  of 
the  chief  works  produced. 

The  body  of  the  work  is  prefaced  by  tables  to  facilitate  the  reading  of 
dated  books  and  prints ;  an  account  of  the  Censorship  of  Prints  ;  a  table 
of  the  Mon  of  the  Yedo  actors  during  the  18th  century;  and  a  table  of 
publishers'  trade-marks  and  seals.  These  will,  it  is  believed,  be  of  service 
to  collectors,  since  the  information  hitherto  published  on  these  matters 
has  been  meagre  and  often  inaccurate.  At  the  end  of  the  book  will  be 
found  brief  essays  on  some  outstanding  problems,  and  a  select  list  of 
important  books  printed  in  colour.  Otherwise  we  have  not  concerned 
ourselves  with  the  books,  or  with  the  paintings,  by  Ukiyoye  masters, 
except  when  this  was  necessary  to  elucidate  the  text. 

For  permission  to  reproduce  prints  in  their  possession  we  cordially 
thank  Prof.  William  Bateson,  Mr.  Ricketts  and  Mr.  Shannon,  Mr.  Oscar 
Raphael,  and  the  Trustees  of  the  British  Museum.  Our  thanks  are  also 
due  to  Mr.  F.  W.  Gookin  for  permission  to  quote  extracts  from  letters 
received  from  him ;  to  Mr.  Carl  Schraubstadter  for  permission  to  refer 
to  a  print,  signed  by  the  Second  Kiyonobu,  in  his  collection ;  and  to 
Mr.  Howard  Mansfield,  Mr.  Arthur  Waley,  and  Mr.  K.  Tomita,  for 
courteously  supplying  information  on  special  points. 


vii 


CONTENTS 


Preface 

♦  ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ 

♦  ♦ 

♦ 

PAGE 

vii 

List  of  Illustrations  ...... 

♦  ♦ 

♦ 

xi 

Tables  to  Facilitate  the  Reading  of  dated  Books  and  Prints  . 

. 

xix 

The  Censorship  of  Prints  ..... 

. 

xxviii 

Actors'  Mon . 

.  . 

xxxvii 

Yedo  Publishers'  Trade-Marks  and  Seals 

. 

xliii 

Select  Bibliography  ...... 

♦  ♦ 

1 

Introduction  ....... 

♦  ♦ 

liii 

Chapter 

I.  From  1658  to  1695 

.  . 

3 

Chapter 

II.  From  1695  to  1730 

♦  ♦ 

11 

Chapter 

III.  From  1730  to  1764 

♦  • 

27 

Chapter 

IV.  Meiwa  Period  :  from  1764  to  1772 

. 

43 

Chapter 

V.  Anyei  Period  :  from  1772  to  1781 

♦ 

69 

Chapter 

VI.  Temmei  Period  :  from  1781  to  1789 

♦ 

83 

Chapter 

VII.  Kwansei  Period  :  from  1789  to  1801 

♦  ♦ 

105 

Chapter  VIII.  Kyowa  and  Bunkwa  Periods  :  from  1801  to  1818 

137 

Chapter 

IX.  Bunsei  Period  :  from  1818  to  1830 

♦  ♦ 

153 

Chapter 

X.  Tempo  and  Kokwa  Periods  :  from  1830  to  1848 

169 

Chapter 

XI.  From  Kayei  Period  to  Meiji  13  :  1848  to  1881 

183 

Note 

A.  The  Kwaigetsudo  Problem 

♦  ♦ 

193 

Note 

B.  The  Second  Kiyonobu  Problem  . 

♦  ♦ 

197 

Note 

C.  The  Shiko-Choki  Problem  . 

♦  ♦ 

203 

Note 

D.  The  Real  Cause  of  Utamaro's  Imprisonment 

205 

List  of  Choice  Colour-printed  Books  and  Albums  in 
Order  ....... 

Chronological 

211 

Index  and  Glossary  ...... 

♦  ♦ 

229 

IX 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


IN  COLOUR 

Mangetsudo.  Hatsu-yume  sambukutsui,  “  The  first  dream 
in  the  New  Year,  a  set  of  three  ”  (right-hand  sheet).  A 
girl  placing  a  hairpin  in  her  hair  by  the  aid  of  a  hand- 


mirror 

(c.  1746) . 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection 

.  Plate 

Harunobu. 

Two  girls  drying  cotton  thread  (c.  1767)  . 
Shannon  and  Ricketts  Collection 

.  Plate 

Harunobu. 

Two  girls  on  a  verandah  (c.  1768)  . 

Shannon  and  Ricketts  Collection 

.  Plate 

Ippitsusai  Buncho.  Segawa  Kikunojd  II  as  a  girl  standing 
on  a  bank  under  an  open  umbrella  on  a  dark  night ;  a 
cluster  of  asters  in  the  background  (c.  1769)  .  .  Plate 

Oscar  Raphael  Collection 

Koryusai  (unsigned).  A  Falcon  standing  on  a  rock  at  night 

(c.  1772)  .........  Plate 

British  Museum 

Koryu  (i.e.  Koryusai).  The  tea-house  waitress  and  celebrated 
Yedo  beauty  of  the  Anyei  period,  Sakuragawa  O  Sen, 
bringing  a  cup  of  tea  to  a  guest  (c.  1776)  .  .  .  Plate 

British  Museum 

Shigemasa  (unsigned).  A  geisha  with  her  maid  on  her  way  to 

fulfil  an  engagement  (c.  1777)  .....  Plate 

British  Museum 

Utamaro.  Shiki  asobi  hana  no  iroka,  “  Diversions  of  the  four 
seasons  ;  the  colour  and  fragrance  of  flowers."  A  party 
about  to  enjoy  “  river  cooling  "  in  a  covered  boat  during 
a  hot  summer  afternoon  (c.  1780)  ....  Plate 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection 

Kiyonaga.  Four  women  leaving  a  shrine  ;  a  procession  pass¬ 
ing  along  an  embankment  in  the  background  (c.  1788)  .  Plate 
British  Museum 

Shunchd.  To-zai-nam-boku  bijin,  “  Beauties  of  the  east, 

west,  south,  and  north."  A  girl  dozing  (c.  1790)  .  .  Plate 

British  Museum 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 


xi 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Sharaku.  The  actor  Shokwaku  (i.e.  Matsumoto  Yonesaburo) 

as  a  woman  carrying  a  kettle  (c.  1794)  .  .  .  Plate  11 

Oscar  Raphael  Collection 

Choki.  A  woman  on  the  verandah  at  the  rear  of  a  house  over¬ 
looking  the  sea  admiring  the  sunrise  on  the  first  dawn  of 
the  New  Year.  Mica  sky  (c.  1794)  ....  Plate  12 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection 

Yeishi  (unsigned).  Seiro  bi-sen  awase,  “  A  comparison  of 
selected  Green  House  beauties.  The  oiran  Takigawa  of 
Ogi-ya  dressed  to  receive  a  new  guest  ”  (c.  1794)  ♦  Plate  13 

British  Museum 

Utamaro.  A  young  man  reclining  on  a  futon  within  a  mosquito 
net  and  smoking  whilst  his  sweetheart  raises  the  net  and 
looks  out  (c.  1799)  .......  Plate  14 

Shannon  and  Ricketts  Collection 

Zen  Hokusai  I-Itsu.  Convolvuli  and  tree-frog  (c.  1830)  .  Plate  15 

Bateson  Collection 

Hiroshige.  Nagakubo ;  Station  No.  28  on  the  Kisokaido 

(c.  1838)  .........  Plate  16 

Oscar  Raphael  Collection 


BLACK  AND  WHITE 

Moronobu  (unsigned).  Kado-bi  or  **  Gate-fire  ”  kindled  by 
chugen  or  samurai's  attendants  at  the  gate  of  his  mansion 
and  women  about  to  arrange  rice-cakes  ( [uchi-awase  no 
mochi)  before  the  Tsumado  (wooden  gate  with  pair  of 
leaves  opening  on  hinges),  in  preparation  for  the  coming 
of  the  bride  in  her  koshi  or  palanquin.  A  single-page 
illustration  from  Onna  shorei  shii,  7  vols.,  published  in 
ibfio  .♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ 
O'Brien  Sexton  Collection 

Moronobu.  “  Types  of  concubines.”  A  single-page  illustra¬ 
tion  from  Ukiyo  Hyakunin  onna ,  “  One  hundred  women 
of  the  Floating  World,”  1  vol.,  published  in  1681. 
O'Brien  Sexton  Collection 
xii 


Plate  17 


Plate  18 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Moronobu  (unsigned).  A  party  of  women  followed  by  their 
servants,  returning  from  a  flower-viewing  picnic ;  and 
a  samurai  and  his  retainers  going  in  the  opposite  direction. 

From  a  series  of  Kyoto  views.  Sumi-ye,  coloured  by 
hand  in  tan  and  faint  green  (c.  1675)  .  .  Fig.  1.  Plate  19 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection 

Torii  Kiyonobu  I  (unsigned).  Sheet  No.  7  of  a  twelve-sheet 
composition  representing  the  procession  of  the  Korean 
Ambassador  and  his  retinue  escorted  by  Japanese  servants 
and  a  bodyguard  of  samurai  upon  his  arrival  in  Yedo. 

Sumi-ye ,  coloured  by  hand  in  clear  yellows,  olives,  pale 
red,  and  black.  Published  by  Tsuruya  Kiyemon  at  Yedo 
(c.  1709)  .......  Fig.  2.  Plate  19 

Bateson  Collection 

Torii  Kiyomasu.  Ichimura  Takenojo  and  Sanjo  Kantaro  as 
Kanemichi  and  O  Saku  respectively  in  a  scene  from  an 
unidentified  play.  Hand- coloured  in  black  and  yellow, 
with  a  sprinkling  of  metallic  powder  and  details  slightly 
embossed  (c.  1715)  .  .  .  .  .  Fig.  1.  Plate  20 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection 

Torii  Kiyonobu  I.  The  actor  Fujimura  Handayu  in  an  un¬ 
identified  female  role.  Coloured  by  hand  in  rose,  yellow, 
olive,  pale  blue,  and  purple  (1719)  .  .  Fig.  2.  Plate  20 

Bateson  Collection 

Nishimura  Shigenaga.  A  girl  as  a  fumi-uri  or  letter-vendor. 
Hand-coloured  in  lacquered  kurenai  (pink  or  scarlet), 
yellow,  and  indigo  blue,  with  metallic  powdering  on  the 
baskets  (c.  1728)  .....  Fig.  1.  Plate  21 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection 

Okumura  Masanobu.  Sanjo  Kantaro  in  an  unidentified  female 
role.  Coloured  by  hand  in  rose,  yellow,  olive,  pale  blue, 
with  a  sprinkling  of  metallic  powder  (c.  1724)  Fig.  2.  Plate  21 
British  Museum 

Torii  Kiyomasu.  Segawa  Kikujird  as  the  keisei  (lit.  castle- 
ruiner,  a  term  formerly  applied  to  first-class  courtesans) 

Katsuragi  in  the  play  44  Kichirei  Imagawa  jo,”  produced 

xiii 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


at  the  Ichimura  theatre  kaomise  at  the  close  of  1740. 

Hand- coloured  in  blue,  yellow,  brown,  and  lacquered 
beni  and  black — the  whole  freely  sprinkled  with  gold  dust 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection  Fig,  1.  Plate  22 

Torii  Kiyohiro.  A  woman  squeezing  water  from  her  juban 
or  under-garment.  Printed  in  green  and  rose  (c.  1757)  . 

British  Museum  Fig*  2.  Plate  22 

Torii  Kiyomasu.  Sanogawa  Ichimatsu  I  as  Ushiwaka  (s')  and 
Matsumoto  Koshiro  III  as  a  rich  man  presenting  him 
with  a  cup  of  sake  on  a  sambo .  Printed  in  green,  yellow, 
and  pink  (two  shades)  (c.  1754-5)  .  .  Fig.  1.  Plate  23 

British  Museum 

Hogetsudo  Okumura  Bunkaku  Masanobu.  Actors  Nakamura 
Tomisaburd  and  Yamashita  Kinsaku  I,  the  latter  as 
Ayame-no  Inaye,  looking  down  on  the  former  as  her  maid. 

Printed  in  green  and  rose  (c.  1742)  .  .  Fig.  2.  Plate  23 

British  Museum 

Tanjddo  Ishikawa  Shuha  Toyonobu.  Sanogawa  Ichimatsu  I 
and  Nakamura  Kumetaro  I  as  O  Shichi  and  Kichisaburo 
in  the  play  u  Itsu  kosode  shobai  kagami,"  produced  at 
the  Nakamura  theatre  in  February,  1751.  Printed  in 
green  and  rose  {beni)  ......  Plate  24 

British  Museum 

Torii  Kiyomitsu.  Nakamura  Matsuye  and  Segawa  Kikunojd 
II  as  Hanshichi  and  O  Hana  respectively,  probably  in  the 
play  "Amatsu-kaze  nenriki  Soga,"  produced  at  the  Naka¬ 
mura  theatre  in  February,  1765.  Printed  in  pale  olive 
(once  green),  pale  red  (once  beni),  yellow,  and  warm  green 
produced  by  printing  green  over  pink  ....  Plate  25 
British  Museum 

Harunobu  (unsigned).  Furyu  yatsushi  Komachi ;  seki  dera, 

“  Refined  Komachi  k  la  mode ;  entering  the  temple."  A 
woman,  holding  a  bucket  of  water  on  her  head,  leads  a 
little  boy.  Printed  in  green,  red,  and  buff-yellow  (c.  1767) 

British  Museum  Fig.  1.  Plate  26 


xiv 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Kitao  Shigemasa.  Ukiyo  mutsu  Tamagawa,  dai  ichi ;  Yama- 
shiro,  Shun^ei,  “  An  Ukiyo  version  of  the  six  Tama 
rivers  ” :  No.  i  ;  Yamashiro  (province),  (poem  by) 

Shunzei.  A  mounted  samurai  youth  watering  his  horse 
at  the  river,  and  a  yakko  pointing  out  the  direction  of  the 
ford.  Printed  in  blue,  red,  green,  and  yellow  on  a  light- 
grey  ground  (c.  1766)  ....  Fig.  2.  Plate  26 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection 

Minko  (unsigned).  A  woman  with  loosened  hair  and  holding 
a  bucket  of  water  on  her  head  with  one  hand  leads  a 
gambolling  boy  with  the  other.  Printed  in  deep  slate- 
blue,  yellow,  red,  pearl-grey,  orange,  and  buff  (c.  1767)  .  Plate  27 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection 

Kita-gawa  Toyoaki  (afterwards  Utamaro  I).  Yoshisawa  Iroha 
as  O  Sato,  the  daughter  of  Sushiya  in  the  play  “  Sembon- 
zakura,”  produced  at  the  Nakamura  theatre  from  the  8th 
month  of  1777.  Printed  in  blue,  yellow,  purple,  green, 
pink,  and  red  .....  Fig.  1.  Plate  28 

British  Museum 

Shuncho.  A  woman  with  loosened  hair  returning  along  the 
sands  with  a  basket  of  edible  seaweeds  gathered 
at  ebb-tide.  Printed  in  lemon-yellow,  brown,  and 
cream  (c.  1785)  .....  Fig.  2.  Plate  28 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection 

Shunsho.  Yamashita  Kinsaku  II  in  a  female  role  and  Onoye 
Matsusuke  in  a  male  role.  Printed  in  Indian  red,  pink 
tan ,  tawny  brown,  and  grey  (c.  1779)  ....  Plate  29 

British  Museum 

Shunrd  (afterwards  Hokusai).  Yayoi  no  Hinagata,  44  Late 
Spring  designs/'  Four  oiran  of  Chojiya,  viz.  Wakagusa  and 
Karagoto  standing,  and  Tsumagiku  and  Asagiku 
seated.  Printed  in  green,  yellow,  pink,  and  purple 
(c.  1781)  .........  Plate  30 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection 


xv 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Kiyonaga.  A  young  girl  practising  penmanship,  with  two 
women  in  attendance.  Printed  in  green,  yellow,  pink, 
purple,  and  orange.  Tablet  to  left  dated  Hare,  3rd  month, 
equivalent  here  to  April,  1783  .....  Plate  31 

British  Museum 

Shunsho.  Ichikawa  Monnosuke  II  as  a  rustic.  Printed  in 
black  and  lemon-yellow,  with  touches  of  brownish  red 
(c.  1791)  .......  Fig.  1.  Plate  32 

British  Museum 

Kiyonaga.  The  actors  Nakamura  Nakaso  I  and  Asuma  Tosd 
III  in  private  attire.  Printed  in  olive,  black  (c.  1784) 

British  Museum  Fig.  2.  Plate  32 

Shunkd.  Actors  Ichikawa  Monnosuke  II  as  Munesada,  stand¬ 
ing  fan  in  hand,  and  Nakamura  Nakaso  I  as  Otomo  no 
Kuronushi,  disguised  as  Sekibei,  standing  leaning  on  an 
axe,  are  looking  down  at  Segawa  Kikunojo  III  as  the 
keisei  Sumizome  in  a  Sekinoto  shosa  (mimetic  act)  follow¬ 
ing  the  play  “  Komachi-sakura,”  produced  at  the  Kiri-221 
theatre  at  the  close  of  1784.  Printed  in  slate-purple, 
green,  red,  pink,  and  yellow  .....  Plate  33 
British  Museum 

Shunyei.  Actor  Ichikawa  Komasd  II  as  Sadakuro  in  the  play 
“  Chuto  Ryogoku  ori,”  produced  at  the  Nakamura 
theatre  in  August,  1790.  Printed  in  yellow,  blue,  green, 
and  grey  .........  Plate  34 

British  Museum 

Utamaro.  A  woman  standing  outside  a  mosquito  net,  inside 
of  which  a  man  is  seated  pipe  in  hand.  Printed  in  purple 
and  green  (c.  1795)  Plate  35 

Shannon  and  Ricketts  Collection 

Utamaro.  Dembei  nyobo  O  Shun  no  So,  “  The  physiognomy 
of  O  Shun,  the  wife  of  Dembei/'  Printed  in  grey  and 
black,  red  on  lips,  blue  pattern  on  dress  (c.  1796)  .  .  Plate  36 

Bateson  Collection 


xvi 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Utamaro.  Shibata  Shurishin  Katsuiye  being  presented  with 
his  battle  sword  by  his  wife  Otani  no  kata,  to  whom  he 
shows  his  dirk  to  signify  his  determination  to  kill  her  and 
himself  rather  than  fall  into  the  Taiko's  hands.  Two 
retainers  in  the  background.  Printed  in  red,  green, 
yellow,  purple  (c.  1805)  ......  Plate  37 

Note . — This  and  No.  38  are  two  of  three  known 
prints  which  are  believed  to  have  been  the  real  cause  of 
the  artist's  imprisonment  and  confinement  to  his  own 
house  under  fetters. 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection 

Utamaro.  Mashiba  Hisayoshi  (i.e.  the  Taiko  Toyotomi 
Hideyoshi)  receiving  in  audience  his  favourite  Ishida 
Mitsunari,  a  retainer  and  female  attendant  in  rear.  Printed 
in  purple,  red,  yellow,  green  (c.  1805)  ....  Plate  38 

O’Brien  Sexton  Collection 

Toyokuni  I.  Jin-gi-rei-chi-shin ;  Chi,  “  The  five  cardinal 
virtues  :  Humanity,  righteousness,  politeness,  wisdom, 
faith  ;  wisdom."  Printed  in  purple,  red,  yellow,  green 
(c.  1794) . .  Plate  39 

British  Museum 

Toyokuni  I.  An  actor  as  a  groom,  carrying  in  one  hand  a 
votive  picture  of  a  horse.  Printed  in  purple,  black,  red, 
grey-blue,  and  yellow  (c.  1800)  .....  Plate  40 

British  Museum 

Shiko  (II  s').  Fujin  kai-some  no  zu,  44  A  picture  of  women's 
first  (New  Year)  purchases."  Three  women  seated 
around  a  Hibachi  upon  which  a  kettle  is  heating  ;  one 
with  a  box  of  cosmetics,  a  second  with  a  scent  satchet, 
and  a  third  holding  a  binsashi  (a  contrivance  for  projecting 
hair  of  the  bin  or  temples  in  a  curve  on  either  side  of  the 
head).  Printed  in  black,  green,  purple,  and  yellow.  Seal- 
dated  Monkey  (year)  first  (month),  in  this  case  equivalent 
to  January  25,  1800  .......  Plate  41 

O’Brien  Sexton  Collection 


XVII 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Hokusai  and  Gwakyojin  Hokusai.  Two  prints  (Okazaki  and 
Kanagawa  Stations)  from  the  first  edition  of  the  set  of 
quarter-block  Tokaido  views  issued  in  the  beginning  of 
1804,  enclosed  in  a  wrapper.  The  upper  one  printed  in 
blue,  green,  and  pink  ;  the  lower  one  in  purple,  pink,  and 
green  .........  Plate  42 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection 

Gototei  Kunisada.  Hoshi  no  shimo  ;  Tosei  fuzoku,  **  Starry 
frost ;  present-day  customs/’  A  girl  in  night  attire 
trimming  an  andon .  Printed  in  pink,  green,  blue,  and 
light  grey  (c.  1816)  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  Plate  43 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection 

Hiroshige  I.  Wakan  royei  shu,  **  Japanese  and  Chinese  recita¬ 
tive  poems.”  Moon,  Rocks,  and  Lake.  Printed  in  blue, 
green,  brown  (c.  1837)  ......  Plate  44 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection 


Ichiyusai  Kuniyoshi.  Central  sheet  of  a  triptych  depicting 
the  last  fight  of  the  Kusunoki  at  Shijo  Nawate.  Masatomo 
glaring  from  under  the  white  streamers  of  the  shattered 
standard  which  he  grasps.  Printed  in  grey,  yellow,  green, 
purple  (c.  1845)  .......  Plate  45 

British  Museum 

Yeisen.  A  springtime  view  of  the  shrine  of  Benten  in  the 
Shinobazu  Pond  at  Yedo.  Printed  in  blue,  green,  red, 
olive,  pink,  and  grey  (c.  1841)  .  .  .  Fig.  1  Plate  46 

British  Museum 

Kobayashi  Kiyochika.  O  Cha-no-mizu  Hotaru,  “  Fire-flies 
on  the  Tea-water  canal.”  Printed  in  shades  of  black, 
yellow,  red  (c.  1880)  .  .  .  .  .  Fig.  2  Plate  46 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection 


xviii 


TABLES  TO  FACILITATE  THE  READING 
OF  DATED  BOOKS  AND  PRINTS 


TABLE  I 


Jikkan  or  “the  ten  celestial  stems." 


Ki-no-e 

z. 

X 

Ki-no-to 

fa 

Hi-no-e 

T 

Hi-no-to 

A 

ft 

Tsuchi-no-e 

Tsuchi-no-to 

)% 

Ka-no-e 

* 

Ka-no-to 

3L 

'3E- 

Mizu-no-e 

Mizu-no-to 

Junishi  or  “the  twelve  zodaical  signs." 


Ne 

Rat 

ASa 

Ushi 

Ox 

i* 

Tora 

Tiger 

U 

Hare 

Tatsu 

Dragon 

Mi 

Snake 

Uma 

Horse 

4Q 

^  nx 

Hitsuji 

Goat 

4*  ^  ^ 

Saru 

Monkey 

s? 

IS 

Tori 

Cock 

Inu 

Dog 

I 

Boar 

XIX 


TABLE  II 

SEXAGENARY  CYCLE 


FORMED  BY  THE  COMBINATION  OF  THE  JIKKAN  WITH  THE 
JUNISHA  IN  REGULAR  ROTATION  OF  ONE  OF  EACH 


_  ,  No.  of 

E-TO  of  year.  cycIe. 

E-TO  of  year. 

No.  of 
cycle. 

E-TO  of  year. 

No.  of 
cycle. 

[p  Kinoe  Ne 

i 

¥ 

^  Kinoe  Saru 

21 

^  Kinoe  Tatsu 

41 

2,  3;  Kinoto  Ushi 

2 

z. 

0  Kinoto  Tori 

22 

Zj  B  Kinoto  Mi 

42 

Hinoe  Tora 

3 

Wi 

Hinoe  Inu 

23 

PI  4p  Hinoe  Uma 

43 

T  Hinoto  U 

4 

T 

^  Hinoto  I 

24 

T  &  Hinoto  Hitsuji 

44 

fX  ^  Tsuchinoe  Tatsu 

5 

/X 

Tsuchinoe  Ne 

25 

jX  ^3  Tsuchinoe  Saru 

45 

B  g  Tsuchinoto  Mi 

6 

5 

^  Tsuchinoto  Ushi 

26 

g  |F§  Tsuchinoto  Tori 

46 

^  if  Kanoe  Uma 

7 

m 

j|f  Kanoe  Tora 

27 

Jg  Kanoe  Inu 

47 

^  ^  Kanoto  Hitsuji 

8 

$ 

Tj[l  Kanoto  U 

28 

s^s  ^  Kanoto  I 

48 

^  Mizunoe  Saru 

9 

ae 

jp;  Mizunoe  Tatsu 

29 

^  If  Mizunoe  Ne 

49 

g  Mizunoto  Tori 

IO 

£ 

g  Mizunoto  Mi 

30 

^  Mizunoto  Ushi 

50 

[p  Kinoe  Inu 

ii 

¥ 

if  Kinoe  Ushi 

31 

Ep  ^  Kinoe  Tora 

5i 

Z,  Kinoto  I 

12 

2, 

^  Kinoto  Hitsuji 

32 

Zj  %  Kinoto  U 

52 

pj  Zf.  Hinoe  Ne 

13 

ft 

Hinoe  Saru 

33 

pj  f£[.  Hinoe  Tatsu 

53 

*j*  Q  Hinoto  Ushi 

14 

T 

g  Hinoto  Tori 

34 

T  B  Hinoto  Mi 

54 

Tsuchinoe  Tora 

15 

$ 

Tsuchinoe  Inu 

35 

£) Z  Tsuchinoe  Ushi 

55 

g  Jjp  Tsuchinoto  U 

16 

a 

^  Tsuchinoto  I 

36 

2  XX  Tsuchinoto  Hitsuji  56 

Kanoe  Tatsu 

17 

£ 

Zfi  Kanoe  Ne 

37 

$1  ^  Kanoe  Saru 

57 

r^c  g  Kanoto  Mi 

18 

3£  Kanoto  Ushi 

38 

3^  Kanoto  Tori 

58 

Mizunoe  Uma 

19 

Mizunoe  Tora 

39 

5  Mizunoe  Inu 

59 

Mizunoto  Hitsuji 

20 

£ 

JJ{]  Mizunoto  U 

40 

Zfe  Jr  Mizunoto  I 

60 

XX 


TABLE  III 


COMPARATIVE  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE 
OF  JAPANESE  DATES 

WITH  THOSE  OF  THE  GREGORIAN  CALENDAR  AS  USED  IN  ENGLAND 
FROM  19TH  FEBRUARY,  l86l,  TO  30TH  DECEMBER,  1872 


Note. — The  letter  I  following  a  long  or  short  month  indicates  an  Intercalary  month. 


Nengo 

«4-<  * 

°*o 

.Q  . 

Year 

Year 

Dai  no  Tsuki 

Sho  no  Tsuki 

or 

, 

ctj  0 

began 

ended 

or 

or 

Name  of  Period. 

P»oI 

on 

on 

Long  Months. 

Short  Months. 

Ten-na  ^ 

I 

58 

9  Feb.,  1681 

28  Jan.,  1682 

2, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12 

1,3,4,  5,7,9 

2 

59 

29  Jan.,  1682 

17  Jan.,  1683 

2, 3, 7, 9, 11, 12 

1,4,  5,6,  8, 10 

A'U 

3 

60 

18  Jan.,  1683 

5  Feb.,  1684 

i,3 ,  5,7, 9, « 

2,4,  5  1,6,  8, 10, 12 

Jo-kyo  £ 

I 

1 

6  Feb.,  1684 

24  Jan.,  1685 

2,  3,  5,  7,  i°,  12 

1,4, 6, 8,9, 11 

2 

2 

25  Jan.,  1685 

13  Jan.,  1686 

2, 4,  5,7,  9, 11 

1,3, 6, 8, 10, 12 

i§£ 

3 

3 

14  Jan.,  1686 

1  Feb.,  1687 

i,3,4,  6,  7,9, 11 

2,  3  I,  5,8, 10, 12 

4 

4 

2  Feb.,  1687 

22  Jan.,  1688 

1, 4,  6,  7, 9, 10, 12 

2,  3,  5, 8, 11 

Gen-roku  77- 

1 

5 

23  Jan.,  1688 

10  Jan.,  1689 

2,  5, 7,  9, 10, 11 

1,  3,4, 6, 8, 12 

—  A> 

2 

6 

11  Jan.,  1689 

29  Jan.,  1690 

1,2,  5,7, 9,10,11 

1 1,  3,4, 6, 8, 12 

m 

3 

7 

30  Jan.,  1690 

18  Jan.,  1691 

1,3,6,  9, 10, 12 

2, 4,  5,7,8, 11 

4 

8 

19  Jan.,  1691 

6  Feb.,  1692 

1,2, 4,  7, 9, 10, 12 

3,5,6,8,81,11 

5 

9 

7  Feb.,  1692 

25  Jan.,  1693 

1,3,4, 7, 10, 12 

2,  5,6, 8, 9, 11 

6 

10 

26  Jan.,  1693 

14  Jan.,  1694 

1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 11 

3,  5,7, 9, 10, 12 

7 

11 

15  Jan.,  1694 

2  Feb.,  1695 

1,2, 4,  5,6, 8, 10 

3,  5  1, 7, 9, 11, 12 

8 

12 

3  Feb.,  1695 

23  Jan.,  1696 

1,3, 4,6,8, 9, 11 

2,  5,7,10,12 

9 

13 

24  Jan.,  1696 

12  Jan.,  1697 

1,4, 6,7,9, 10, 12 

2,  3,  5, 8, 11 

10 

14 

13  Jan.,  1697 

31  Jan.,  1698 

2, 4, 6, 8,9, 11, 12 

1, 2  I,  3,  5,7, 10 

IX 

15 

1  Feb.,  1698 

20  Jan.,  1699 

2,  5,8, 9, 11, 12 

1,3,4, 6, 7,  i° 

12 

16 

21  Jan.,  1699 

8  Feb.,  1700 

1,3,6, 9, 10, 11, 12 

2, 4,  5, 7,  8, 9  I 

13 

17 

9  Feb.,  1700 

27  Jan.,  1701 

1, 3, 6, 9, 11, 12 

2, 4,  5, 7,  8, 10 

14 

18 

28  Jan.,  1701 

16  Jan.,  1702 

1,3,5,7,10,12 

2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11 

15 

19 

17  Jan.,  1702 

4  Feb.,  1703 

1,3,4, 6,  8, 10, 12 

2,5,7,81,9,11 

16 

20 

5  Feb.,  1703 

24  Jan.,  1704 

2, 3,  5,  6, 8,  i° 

1,4,  7,  9, 11, 12 

Ho-yei  Sfet 

1 

21 

25  Jan.,  1704 

13  Jan.,  1705 

1,  3,  5, 6, 8, 9, 11 

2, 4,  7, 10, 12 

2 

22 

14  Jan.,  1705 

1  Feb.,  1706 

1,4,  5,7, 8, 10, 11 

2,3,4  1,6,9, 12 

3 

23 

2  Feb.,  1706 

22  Jan.,  1707 

1,4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12 

2,  3,  5,6,9 

4 

24 

23  Jan.,  1707 

11  Jan.,  1708 

2,  5, 8, 10, 11, 12 

1,3,4, 6, 7, 9 

5 

25 

12  Jan.,  1708 

29  Jan.,  1709 

1,3,  5,8, 10, 11, 12 

1  I,  2,  4,  6,  7, 9 

6 

26 

30  Jan.,  1709 

18  Jan.,  1710 

2,  3,6, 9, 11, 12 

i,4,  5,7, 8, 10 

7 

27 

19  Jan.,  1710 

5  Feb.,  1711 

2,3,  5,7,9, 11 

1, 4, 6, 8, 8  1, 10, 12 

Sho-toku  Jp 

1 

28 

6  Feb.,  1711 

26  Jan.,  1712 

1, 2,  3,  5, 7, 10, 12 

4,  6, 8, 9, 11 

2 

29 

27  Jan.,  1712 

14  Jan.,  1713 

2,  5, 7, 8, 10 

1,  3,4,  6, 9, 11, 12 

fi 

3 

30 

15  Jan.,  1713 

3  Feb.,  1714 

1, 2, 3,  5,  6, 7, 9, 10, 12 

4,  5  1, 8, 11 

4 

3i 

4  Feb.,  1714 

23  Jan.,  1715 

3,5,7, 8, 10. 11 

1,2,4, 6, 9, 12 

5 

32 

24  Jan.,  1715 

13  Jan.,  1716 

1,2, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12 

3,  5, 6, 9 

XXI 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 
TABLE  III  —  continued 


Nengo 

Uh  . 
0-0 
^  o 

>» 

Year 

Year 

Dai  no  Tsuki 

Sho  no  Tsuki 

or 

rt  'u 

v  ^ 

began 

ended 

or 

or 

Name  of  Period. 

£0 

on 

on 

Long  Months. 

Short  Months. 

Kyo-ho  3§£ 

i 

33 

14  Jan.,  1716 

30  Jan.,  1717 

2,  4,  7,  9,  10,  II 

1,2  I,  3,  5,6,  8,  12 

/a 

2 

34 

31  Jan.,  1717 

19  Jan.,  1718 

1,2,  5,8,  IO,  II 

3t  4t  6, 7, 9, 12 

w 

3 

35 

20  Jan.,  1718 

7  Feb.,  1719 

1,2, 4, 6, 9,  IO  I,  12 

3,  5,7, 8, 10, 11 

4 

36 

8  Feb.,  1719 

27  Jan.,  1720 

it  2, 4, 6, 9> 

3,  5,7, 8, 10,12 

5 

37 

28  Jan.,  1720 

16  Jan.,  1721 

1,2, 4,5,7,10, 12 

3,6,8,9,11 

6 

3** 

17  Jan.,  1721 

4  Feb.,  1722 

2, 4,  5, 7>  8, 10,12 

it  3t  6,7  1,9, 11 

7 

39 

5  Feb.,  1722 

24  Jan.,  1723 

2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11 

1,3,  5,8, 10, 12 

8 

40 

25  Jan.,  1723 

14  Jan.,  1724 

i>3>6,  7, 9, 10, 12 

2, 4,  5,8,11 

9 

4i 

15  Jan.,  1724 

1  Feb.,  1725 

1,4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12 

2,3,41,  5, 7t  11 

10 

42 

2  Feb.,  1725 

21  Jan.,  1726 

1,4, 7, 9, 10, 12 

2, 3t  5t  6, 8, 11 

ii 

43 

22  Jan.,  1726 

10  Jan.,  1727 

1,3,  5,8, 10, 12 

2, 4t  6, 7, 9, 11 

12 

44 

11  Jan.,  1727 

29  Jan.,  1728 

1, 1 1,3,  5,8, 10, 12 

2, 4t  6, 7, 9,  n 

13 

45 

30  Jan.,  1728 

7  Jan.,  1729 

1,  3, 4, 6, 9, 11 

2,  5t  7t  8, 10, 12 

14 

46 

8  Jan.,  1729 

5  Feb.,  1730 

i>  3>  4>  6, 8, 9  1, 11 

2,5,1, 9,  i°,  12 

15 

47 

6  Feb.,  1730 

26  Jan.,  1731 

i>  3>  5>6, 8,10,12 

2, 4, 7, 9, 11 

l6 

48 

27  Jan.,  1731 

15  Jan.,  1732 

2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11 

it  3t  5t7ti°,  12 

17 

49 

16  Jan.,  1732 

2  Feb.,  1733 

1,3,  5  1, 7, 8,9, 11 

2, 4,  5,  6, 10, 12 

l8 

50 

3  Feb.,  1733 

23  Jan.,  1734 

i>  3t  6,8,9,11,12 

2, 4,  5, 7, 10 

19 

5i 

24  Jan.,  1734 

12  Jan.,  1735 

2, 4, 7,  9, 11, 12 

it  3t  5t  6, 8, 10 

20 

52 

13  Jan.,  1735 

31  Jan.,  1736 

1>3>  4>  7>  9>  !2 

2, 3  I,  5, 6, 8, 10 

Gem-bun 

I 

53 

1  Feb.,  1736 

19  Jan.,  1737 

2,  3,  5,8, 11, 12 

it  4t  6, 7t9t  10 

-V 

2 

54 

20  Jan.,  1737 

7  Feb.,  1738 

2t3t4t  6, 9, 11, 12 

1,5,7, 8, 10, 11 1 

X 

3 

55 

8  Feb.,  1738 

27  Jan.,  1739 

2,3t  5t7t  9t  11 

1,4, 6, 8, 10, 12 

4 

56 

28  Jan.,  1739 

17  Jan.,  1740 

it  3t  5t  6, 8, 10, 12 

2, 4, 7,9, 11 

5 

57 

18  Jan.,  1740 

4  Feb.,  1741 

2,  5, 6,71, 8,10,12 

it3t4t  7t  9t  11 

Kwampo 

1 

58 

5  Feb.,  1741 

24  Jan.,  1742 

2,  5, 7, 8, 10, 11 

it  3t  4t  6, 9, 12 

/El 

2 

59 

25  Jan.,  1742 

14  Jan.,  1743 

1,3,6, 8, 10, 11, 12 

2, 4t  5t  7t  9 

14C 

3 

60 

15  Jan.,  1743 

2  Feb.,  1744 

2, 4, 6,9, 10, 11, 12 

1,3,41,  5, 7,8 

Yen-kyo 

1 

1 

3  Feb.,  1744 

20  Jan.,  1745 

2, 4, 7, 10, 11 

it  3t  5t  6, 8, 9, 12 

-eV 

2 

2 

21  Jan.,  1745 

8  Feb.,  1746 

it  2,  3,  5, 8, 11, 12 

4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12  I 

¥ 

3 

3 

9  Feb.,  1746 

29  Jan.,  1747 

1,2,4, 6, 8, 11, 12 

3t  5t7t  9t  10 

4 

4 

30  Jan.,  1747 

18  Jan.,  1748 

2, 4t  5t  7t  9t  11 

1,3, 6, 8, 10,12 

Kwan-yen 

IX. 

1 

5 

19  Jan.,  1748 

5  Feb.,  1749 

2,3t  5t  7t  8,10,11 

1,4, 6, 9, 10  I,i2 

2 

6 

6  Feb.,  1749 

26  Jan.,  1750 

it  4t  6, 7, 9, 10, 12 

2, 3,  5, 8,11 

5*E 

3 

7 

27  Jan.,  1750 

15  Jan.,  1751 

2,  5t  7t  9t  10, 11 

1,3,4, 6, 8, 12 

Ho-reki  ^ 

1 

8 

16  Jan.,  1751 

3  Feb.,  1752 

it  3t  6, 7t  9tio,  12 

2, 4,  5,61, 8,11 

2 

9 

4  Feb.,  1752 

2  Feb.,  1753 

it  3t  6, 9t  10, 12 

2, 4t  5t  7, 8,11 

w 

3 

10 

3  Feb.,  1753 

22  Jan.,  1754 

1,2, 7, 10, 11 

3, 4,  5, 6, 8, 9, 12 

4' 

11 

23  Jan.,  1754 

10  Feb.,  1755 

it  2,  3, 4, 7, 10, 12 

2I,  5, 6, 8, 9,11 

5 

12 

11  Feb.,  1755 

30  Jan.,  1756 

1,2, 4, 6, 8, 11 

3t  5t7>9t  10, 12 

6 

13 

31  Jan.,  1756 

17  Feb.,  1757 

1,2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11 

3,  5,8, 10, 111, 12 

7 

14 

18  Feb.,  1757 

7  Feb.,  1758 

1,3,4, 6, 8, 9, 11 

2,  5, 7, 10,12 

8 

15 

8  Feb.,  1758 

28  Jan.,  1759 

1, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12 

2, 3t5t7t  11 

xxii 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  DATES 


TABLE  II I — c on  tinued 


Nengo 

or 

Name  of  Period. 

Year  of 
Period. 

Year  by 

Cycle. 

Year 

began 

on 

Year 

ended 

on 

Dai  no  Tsuki 
or 

Long  Months. 

Sho  no  Tsuki 
or 

Short  Months. 

9 

16 

29  Jan.,  1759 

16  Feb.,  1760 

2,  5>  7>  8,9,  II,  12 

1,3,4, 6,71, 10 

xo 

17 

17  Feb.,  1760 

4  Feb.,  1761 

2,  5,8, 9,  II,  12 

1,3,4, 6, 7,10 

XI 

18 

5  Feb.,  1761 

24  Jan.,  1762 

1,3,6,  9,  II,  12 

2, 4,  5, 7, 8, 10 

12 

19 

25  Jan.,  1762 

12  Feb.,  1763 

1,2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 12 

3,41,  5, 7, 8, 10 

*3 

20 

13  Feb.,  1763 

1  Feb.,  1764 

1,3,  5r7>I°>*2 

2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11 

Mei-wa  00 

I 

21 

2  Feb.,  1764 

19  Feb.,  1765 

1,3,4,  6,8,  II,  12  I 

2,  5,7, 9,10,12 

-fh 

2 

22 

20  Feb.,  1765 

8  Feb.,  1766 

2,  3,  5,6, 8, 10 

1,4, 7,9, 11, 12 

3 

23 

9  Feb.,  1766 

29  Jan.,  1767 

1,3,5,  6,  8,9, 11 

2, 4, 7, 10, 12 

4 

24 

30  Jan.,  1767 

17  Feb.,  1768 

2, 4, 6,  8,9, 10, 11 

i,3,  5,7,9  1, 12 

5 

25 

18  Feb.,  1768 

6  Feb.,  1769 

1,4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12 

2,  3,  5,  6,  9 

6 

26 

7  Feb.,  1769 

26  Jan.,  1770 

2,  5, 8, 10, 11, 12 

i,3,4,  6,  7,9 

7 

27 

27  Jan.,  1770 

14  Feb.,  1771 

1,3,6, 8, 10, 11, 12 

2, 4,  5,61,7,9 

8 

28 

15  Feb.,  1771 

3  Feb.,  1772 

2, 4, 6,9, 11, 12 

1,  3,  5, 7,  8, 10 

An-yei  ^ 

1 

29 

4  Feb.,  1772 

27  Jan.,  1773 

2,3,  5,7,  10,  12 

1,4, 6, 8, 9, 11 

X 

2 

30 

28  Jan.,  1773 

10  Feb.,  1774 

2,3,4,  5,7, 10, 12 

1,31, 6, 8,9,11 

w 

3 

31 

11  Feb.,  1774 

30  Jan.,  1775 

2,  3,  5,7,  9,  11 

1, 4,  6, 8, 10, 12 

4 

32 

31  Jan.,  1775 

18  Feb.,  1776 

i,3,  5,7,  8, 10, 11 

2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 12  I 

5 

33 

19  Feb.,  1776 

7  Feb.,  1777 

i,3»  5,7,  9>io>ii 

2, 4, 6, 8, 12 

6 

34 

8  Feb.,  1777 

27  Jan.,  1778 

1,4, 7, 9, 10, 11 

2,3,  5,6, 8, 12 

7 

35 

28  Jan.,  1778 

15  Feb.,  1779 

1,  2,  5, 7, 1, 9, 10, 11 

3,4, 6, 7, 8, 12 

8 

36 

16  Feb.,  1779 

4  Feb.,  1780 

1,3,  5,8, 10, 11 

2, 4, 6, 7, 9,  ^2 

9 

37 

5  Feb.,  1780 

23  Jan.,  1781 

if  4>  9>  1  ^ 

3,  5,7, 8,10,12 

Tem-mei  -p 

1 

38 

24  Jan.,  1781 

11  Feb.,  1782 

1,2,3,  5,6,  9,  11 

4,  5  1, 7, 8, 10, 12 

m 

2 

39 

12  Feb.,  1782 

1  Feb.,  1783 

1,2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 

3,  5, 7, 9, 11 

3 

40 

2  Feb.,  1783 

21  Jan.,  1784 

2, 4,  5,  7,  9,  11 

1,3,6, 8, 10, 12 

4 

41 

22  Jan.,  1784 

8  Feb.,  1785 

1,2, 4, 6, 7, 9,11 

1 1,3,  5,8, 10, 12 

5 

42 

9  Feb.,  1785 

29  Jan.,  1786 

i,3»6,  7, 9, 10,12 

2, 4,  5, 8, 11 

6 

43 

30  Jan.,  1786 

17  Feb.,  1787 

2, 4, 7, 9, 10, 10  I,i2 

1,  3,  5,6, 8, 11 

7 

44 

18  Feb.,  1787 

6  Feb.,  1788 

1,4, 7,9, 10, 12 

2, 3,  5, 6, 8, 11 

8 

45 

7  Feb.,  1788 

25  Jan.,  1789 

1,3,  5,8, 10, 12 

2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11 

Kwan-sei  ^ 

1 

46 

26  Jan.,  1789 

13  Feb.,  1790 

1,2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 

3,  5,61, 7, 9,11 

2 

47 

14  Feb.,  1790 

2  Feb.,  1791 

1,3,4, 6,9, 11 

2,  5, 7, 8, 10,12 

$ 

3 

48 

3  Feb.,  1791 

23  Jan.,  1792 

1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 

2,  5, 7, 9, 11 

4 

49 

24  Jan.,  1792 

10  Feb.,  1793 

2,  3,  5,6, 8, 10,12 

1, 2  1, 4, 7, 9, 11 

5 

50 

11  Feb.,  1793 

30  Jan.,  1794 

2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11 

i,3,5, 7,10,12 

6 

5i 

31  Jan.,  1794 

18  Feb.,  1795 

i>  3>  6,  8, 9, 10, 11 1 

2, 4,  5,7, 11,12 

7 

52 

19  Feb.,  1795 

8  Feb.,  1796 

1,3/6, 8, 9, 11, 12 

2, 4,  5, 7, 10 

8 

53 

9  Feb.,  1796 

27  Jan.,  1797 

2, 4, 7,9, 11,12 

1,3,  5,6, 8, 10 

9 

54 

28  Jan.,  1797 

15  Feb.,  1798 

1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12 

2, 4, 6, 7, 7  1, 9 

10 

55 

16  Feb.,  1798 

4  Feb.,  1799 

2,3,5,8,11,12 

i,4, 6, 7, 9, 10 

11 

56 

5  Feb.,  1799 

24  Jan.,  1800. 

2,  3>  4, 7, 9, 12 

1,5,6, 8, 10, 11 

12 

57 

25  Jan.,  1800 

12  Feb.,  1801 

1,3, 4,  5,7, 9/H 

2, 4  1, 6, 8, 10, 12 

xxiii 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


TABLE  II I — c ontinued 


Nengo 

o  ~6 

L-  O 

> 

Year 

Year 

Dai  no  Tsuki 

Sho  no  Tsuki 

or 

began 

ended 

or 

or 

Name  of  Period. 

£6 

on 

on 

Long  Months. 

Short  Months. 

Kyo-wa  3" 

I 

58 

13  Feb.,  1801 

2  Feb.,  1802 

i,3»  5,7,  8, 10, 12 

2,4,  6,  9, 11 

m 

2 

59 

3  Feb.,  1802 

22  Jan.,  1803 

2,  5,  7,  8,  9, 11 

1,3,4, 6,10,12 

3 

60 

23  Jan.,  1803 

10  Feb.,  1804 

it  2,  5, 7,  8, 10, 11 

1 1,  3, 4,  6,  9, 12 

Bun-kwa 

I 

1 

11  Feb.,  1804 

30  Jan.,  1805 

1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12 

2, 4,  5, 7, 9 

it 

2 

2 

31  Jan.,  1805 

17  Feb.,  1806 

2, 4, 8,9, 10, 11 

i,3,  5,6, 7,8  1, 12 

3 

3 

18  Feb.,  1806 

6  Feb.,  1807 

1, 2, 4, 8, 10, 11 

3,  5,  6,  7, 9,i2 

4 

4 

7  Feb.,  1807 

27  Jan.,  1808 

1, 2,  3,  5, 8, 11, 12 

4,  6,  7, 9, 10 

5 

5 

28  Jan.,  1808 

13  Feb.,  1809 

2,3,  5,6  1, 8, 11 

1,4, 6,7,9, 10, 12 

6 

6 

14  Feb.,  1809 

3  Feb.,  1810 

1,2, 4,  5,7, 9, 11 

3,  6,  8, 10, 12 

7 

7 

4  Feb.,  1810 

24  Jan.,  1811 

2, 4,  5,7, 8, 10, 12 

1,3,6, 9, 11 

8 

8 

25  Jan.,  1811 

12  Feb.,  1812 

2  1, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12 

1,  2,  3,  5,  8, 11 

9 

9 

13  Feb.,  1812 

31  Jan.,  1813 

2,  5,7, 9, 10, 11 

1,3,4, 6, 8, 12 

IO 

10 

1  Feb.,  1813 

19  Feb.,  1814 

1,3,7, 9,  10, 11, 12 

2, 4,  5,6,8, 11 1 

ii 

11 

20  Feb.,  1814 

8  Feb.,  1815 

1,3, 7,9, 10, 12 

2, 4,  5,6, 8, 11 

12 

12 

9  Feb.,  1815 

28  Jan.,  1816 

1,2, 4, 8, 10, 12 

3,5,6, 7, 9,11 

13 

13 

29  Jan.,  1816 

15  Feb.,  1817 

1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 

3,5,7,81,9,11 

14 

14 

16  Feb.,  1817 

4  Feb.,  1818 

1,3,4, 6, 8, 11 

2,  5,7,  9, 10, 12 

Bun-sei 

St 

I 

i5 

5  Feb.,  1818 

25  Jan.,  1819 

1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 12 

3,  5,8,  IO,  II 

2 

16 

26  Jan.,  1819 

13  Feb.,  1820 

2,4,  5,6, 8, 9, 11 

1,  3,  4, 1,  7, 10, 12 

3 

17 

14  Feb.,  1820 

2  Feb.,  1821 

2, 4, 6,  8, 9, 10, 12 

i,3,5,7,n 

4 

18 

3  Feb.,  1821 

22  Jan.,  1822 

2,  5, 7, 9, 10, 12 

1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 11 

5 

19 

23  Jan.,  1822 

10  Feb.,  1823 

1,2, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12 

1 1,3,4,  5,7, IO 

6 

20 

11  Feb.,  1823 

30  Jan.,  1824 

1,  3, 7,  9, 11, 12 

2, 4,  5, 6, 8, 10 

7 

21 

31  Jan.,  1824 

17  Feb,,  1825 

1,2,  5,  8,9, 11, 12 

3, 4, 6, 7, 8  I,  id 

8 

22 

18  Feb.,  1825 

6  Feb.,  1826 

i,3,  5,7,io,i2 

2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11 

9 

23 

7  Feb.,  1826 

26  Jan.,  1827 

1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 11 

2,  5, 7, 9, 10, 12 

10 

24 

27  Jan.,  1827 

14  Feb.,  1828 

1,3,4, 6, 7,8, 11 

2,  5,61, 9,10,12 

11 

25 

15  Feb.,  1828 

3  Feb.,  1829 

1,3,  5,6,8,10,11 

2, 4, 7, 9, 12 

12 

26 

4  Feb.,  1829 

24  Jan.,  1830 

2, 4, 6, 8,9, 11, 12 

i,3,  5,7, 10 

Tem-po  ^ 

1 

27 

25  Jan.,  1830 

12  Feb.,  1831 

3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12 

1,2,3  I,  5,6,9 

ft 

2 

28 

13  Feb.,  1831 

1  Feb.,  1832 

2, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12 

i,3,4,  5,7,9 

3 

29 

2  Feb.,  1832 

19  Feb.,  1833 

i,3,7, 9,ii,n  I,i2 

2, 4,  5, 6, 8, 10 

4 

30 

20  Feb.,  1833 

8  Feb.,  1834 

2,  4, 7, 9,11,12 

1,3,  5,6, 8,10 

5 

3i 

9  Feb.,  1834 

28  Jan.,  1835 

2,3,  5,8,10,12 

1,4, 6, 7, 9, 11 

6 

32 

29  Jan.,  1835 

16  Feb.,  1836 

2,3,  5,6, 8, 10, 12 

1,4, 7,7  1,9, 11 

7 

33 

17  Feb.,  1836 

4  Feb.,  1837 

2,4,  5,7, 9, 11 

1,3,6, 8, 10, 12 

8 

34 

5  Feb.,  1837 

25  Jan.,  1838 

i,3,  5,7, 8, 10, 12 

2, 4, 6, 9, 11 

9 

35 

26  Jan.,  1838 

13  Feb.,  1839 

2, 4, 7,  9, 10, 12 

1,3,41,  5,6, 8, 11 

10 

36 

14  Feb.,  1839 

2  Feb.,  1840 

2,  5,7,  9,  IO,  II 

1,  3,4, 6, 8, 12 

11 

37 

3  Feb.,  1840 

22  Jan.,  1841 

1,  2, 6,  8, 10, 11, 12 

3, 4,  5, 7, 9 

12 

38 

23  Jan, 1841. 

9  Feb.,  1842 

1  I,  3, 6, 8, 10, 11 

1,2, 4,  5,7, 9,12 

13 

39 

10  Feb.,  1842 

29  Jan.,  1843 

1,2, 4,  7, 9, 11 

3,  5,6, 8, 10, 12 

14 

40 

30  Jan.,  1843 

17  Feb.,  1844 

1,2,  3,  5,8,91,11 

4, 6, 7, 9, IO,  J2 

xxiv 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  DATES 


TABLE  III  —  continued 


Nengo 

or 

Name  of  Period. 

Year  of 

Period. 

Year  by 

Cycle. 

Year 

began 

on 

Year 

ended 

on 

Dai  no  Tsuki 
or 

Long  Months. 

Sho  no  Tsuki 
or 

Short  Months. 

Ko-kwa 

i 

41 

18  Feb.,  1844 

6  Feb.,  1845 

i,  2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 

3,5»7»9,H 

jfl 0 

2 

42 

7  Feb.,  1845 

26  Jan.,  1846 

2,4,  5,7, 9, 11 

1,3,6, 8, 10, 12 

it, 

3 

43 

27  Jan.,  1846 

14  Feb.,  1847 

i>3>5>6,7,  9,11 

2, 4,51,  8,10,12 

4 

44 

15  Feb.,  1847 

4  Feb.,  1848 

i,3>6,  7,  9, 10, 12 

2, 4,  5,  8, 11 

Ka-y  ei 

i 

45 

5  Feb.,  1848 

23  Jan.,  1849 

2,  5>7>  9,  10, 11 

1,3,4,  6,8, 12 

2 

46 

24  Jan.,  1849 

11  Feb.,  1850 

i»3»  5>7>  9>  I°,I2 

2, 4, 4  I,  6,  8, 11 

W 

3 

47 

12  Feb.,  1850 

31  Jan.,  1851 

1,3,6, 8, 10, 12 

2, 4,  5>7>  9>  11 

4 

48 

1  Feb.,  1851 

20  Jan.,  1852 

1,2, 4, 7, 9, 11 

3,  5,6,8,  10, 12 

5 

49 

21  Jan.,  1852 

7  Feb.,  1851 

1,2,  3,  4, 7,9, 11 

2  I,  5,6,8, 10, 12 

6 

50 

8  Feb.,  1853 

28  Jan.,  1854 

1,3,4,5,8,10,12 

2,  5,7,9, 11 

An-sei 

i 

5i 

29  Jan.,  1854 

16  Feb.,  1855 

2,4, 6,7,8, 10, 12 

1,  3,  5,  7  It  9, 11 

2 

52 

17  Feb.,  1855 

5  Feb.,  1856 

2,  5,6, 8, 9, 11 

1,  3, 4, 7, 10, 12 

3 

53 

6  Feb.,  1856 

25  Jan.,  1857 

1, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12 

2,  3,  5,  7, 11 

4 

54 

26  Jan.,  1857 

13  Feb.,  1858 

2,  5,6, 8, 9, 11, 12 

1,  3,4,  5  I,  7, 10 

5 

55 

14  Feb.,  1858 

2  Feb.,  1859 

2,  5,8, 9, 11, 12 

1,  3»  4>  6,  7, 10 

6 

56 

3  Feb.,  1859 

22  Jan.,  i860 

1,3,6, 9, 11, 12 

2, 4,  5,7,8, 10 

Man-yen 

i 

57 

23  Jan.,  i860 

9  Feb.,  1861 

1 ,  3,  3  1, 6, 9, 11, 12 

2, 4,  5,  7, 8, 10 

m 

Bun-kyu  ^ 

i 

58 

10  Feb.,  1861 

29  Jan.,  1862 

2,  3>  5>7>  9>  12 

1, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11 

!K 

2 

59 

30  Jan.,  1862 

17  Feb.,  1863 

1,3,4,  6,8,9, 11 

2,  5,7,81,10,12 

3 

60 

18  Feb.,  1863 

7  Feb.,  1864 

2,  3,5,7,8,10,12 

1,4, 6, 9, 11 

Gen-ji  % 

i 

1 

8  Feb.,  1864 

26  Jan.,  1865 

3,  5,  7,  8,  9, 11 

1,2,4, 6, 10, 12 

m 

Kei-o 

i 

2 

27  Jan.,  1865 

14  Feb.,  1866 

1,4,  5  1,7,8, 10, 11 

2,  3,  5, 6, 9,12 

pfa 

2 

3 

15  Feb.,  1866 

4  Feb.,  1867 

1,3,7,  8, 10, 11, 12 

2, 4,  5, 6, 9 

m 

3 

4 

5  Feb.,  1867 

24  Jan.,  1868 

2,4,  8, 10, 11, 12 

1,  3>  5>  6, 7, 9 

Mei-ji  ^ 

I 

5 

25  Jan.,  1868 

10  Feb.,  1869 

2,  3,  5,8, 10, 11 

1,4,41, 6, 7,9, 12 

2 

6 

11  Feb.,  1869 

31  Jan.,  1870 

1,  2,  3,  6,  9,11,12 

4,  5,7,8, 10 

3 

7 

1  Feb.,  1870 

18  Feb.,  1871 

2,3»  5>  7 >  9>  « 

1, 4, 6, 8, 10, 10  1, 12 

4 

8 

19  Feb.,  1871 

8  Feb.,  1872 

1,2, 4,  5,  7, 9, 12 

3,6,8, 10, 11 

5 

9 

9  Feb.,  1872 

31  Dec.,  1872 

2, 4,  5,7,  8, 10, 12 

1, 3, 6, 9, 11 

xxv 


TABLE  IV 


Long  and  Short  months  arranged  in  groups  according  to  the  years  in  which  they  are 
identical,  together  with  intervening  number  of  years. 


d 

Period. 

Inter- 

d 

Inter- 

0 

E-To  of  Year. 

vening 

0 

Period. 

ra 

E-To  of  Years. 

vening 

0 

> 

No.  of 

0 

> 

No.  of 

Years. 

Years. 

I 

1  Tenna 

1 

Kanoto  U 

150 

17 

f  Kyoho 

4 

Tsuchinoto  I\ 

6l 

\  Tempo 

2 

Kano  to  Tori 

\  Anyei 

9 

Kanoe  Ne  / 

2 

f Joky 6 

1 

Kinoe  Ne 

88 

[  Kyoh5 
j  Temmei 

8 

Mizunoto  U  \ 

62 

62 

l  Anyei 

1 

Mizunoe  Tatsu 

18 

5 

Kinoto  Mi  / 1 

'  Jokyo 

2 

Kinoto  Ushi  \ 

l  Kokwa 

4 

Hinoto  Hitsuji  ) 

Yenkyo 

4 

Hinoto  U  / 1 

19 

f  Kyoho 
l  Temmei 

10 

Kinoto  Mi  \ 

62 

3 

Temmei 

3 

Mizunoto  U  J  \ 

7 

Hinoto  HitsujiJ 

Tempo 

Kokwa 

1 Jokyo 
•j  Genroku 

7 

2 

Hinoe  Saru  J) 
Kinoto  Mi  J 

53 

9 

20 

/  Kyoho 
iTemmei 

11 

8 

Hinoe  Uma  \ 

Tsuchinoe  Saru/ 

62 

4 

4 

9 

Hinoto  U  \ 

Hinoe  Ne  J  \ 

9 

21 

/  Kyoho 
iKwansei 

13 

2 

Tsuchinoe  Saru\ 
Kanoe  Inu  / 

62 

l  Kwanyen 

2 

Tsuchinoto  Mi  / 

53 

22 

/  Kyoho 
iGembun 

15 

Kanoe  Inu  \ 

Genroku 

1 

Tsuchinoe  Ttasu\ 

62 

62 

4 

Tsuchinoto  Hitsuji/ 

9 

Kwanyen 

3 

Kanoe  Uma  J  \ 

23 

/  Kyoho 
IKwansei 

16 

Kanoto  I  \ 

62 

5 

Bunkwa 

9 

Mizunoe  Saru  J  ] 

5 

Mizunoto  Ushi/ 

Tempo 

10 

Tsuchinoto  I  V 

9 

24 

/  Kyoho 
IKwansei 

18 

Mizunoto  Ushi\ 

62 

Kayei 

1 

Tsuchinoe  Saru 

7 

Kinoto  U  / 

6 

/  Genroku 

3 

Kanoe  Uma  \ 

62 

[  Kyoho 
Kwansei 

19 

Kinoe  Tor  a  \ 

62 

t  Horeki 

2 

Mizunoe  Saru/ 

25 

8 

Hinoe  Tatsu  /\ 

*7 

(  Genroku 

6 

Mizunoto  Tori\ 

62 

( Tempo 

4 

Mizunoto  Mi  / 

37 

\  Horeki 

5 

Kinoto  I  / 

26 

/  Gembun 

1 

Hinoe  Tatsu  \ 

62 

8 

/  Genroku 

8 

Hinoto  Ushi/ 

62 

iKwansei 

10 

Tsuchineo  Ushi/ 

\  Horeki 

7 

Kinoto  I  J 

27 

/  Gembun 

3 

Tsuchinoe  Ushi\ 

36 

|  Genroku 

11 

Tsuchinoe  Tora\ 

62 

98 

lAnye 

3 

Kinoe  Usihi  / 

9 

I  Horeki 

10 

Kanoe  Tatsu  /  J 

28 

/  Kwampd 
\Bunkwa 

2 

Mizunoe  Inu/ 

62 

lAnsei 

5 

Tsuchinoe  Ushi  / 

1 

Kinoe  Ne  / 

[  Genroku 

13 

Kanoe  Tatsu  ) 

29 

/  Hbreki 

8 

Tsuchinoe  Tor  a/ 

98 

10 

1  Horeki 

11 

Kanoto  Mi  /\ 

98 

lAnsei 

3 

Hinoe  Tatsu  / 

'  Ansei 

6 

Tsuchinoto  Hitsuji  / 

30 

/Temmei 

2 

Mizunoe  Tor  a/ 

62 

|  Genroku 

14 

Kinoto  Tori  1 

62 

62 

\  Kokwa 

1 

Kinoe  Tatsu  / 

11 

'j  Horeki 

13 

Kanoto  Mi  J  J 

31 

J  Kwansei 

3 

Kanoto  I  \ 

62 

IBunsei 

8 

Mizunoto  Hitsuji  / 

\  Kayei 

6 

Mizunoto  Ushi/ 

12 

/Genroku 

16 

Mizunoto  Hitsuji! 

62 

32 

J'Kyowa 

ITempo 

1 

Hinoto  Tori  / 

36 

l  Meiwa 

2 

Kinoto  Tori  / 

8 

Kanoto  Tori/ 

13 

/Hoyei 

1 

Hinoe  Inu  ) 

62 

33 

/Bunkwa 

7 

Kanoe  Uma  / 

62 

l  Meiwa 

3 

Kinoe  Saru/ 

\Meiji 

5 

Mizunoe  Saru  / 

14 

j  Hoyei 

3 

Hinoe  Inu  \ 

62 

34 

f  Bunkwa 

14 

Hinoto  Ushi\ 

\  Meiwa 

5 

Tsuchinoe  Ne/ 

\Bunsei 

9 

Hinoe  Inu  / 

y 

15 

/  Hoyei 
\  Meiwa 

4 

6 

Hinoto  I  1 

Tsuchinoto  Ushi/ 

62 

35 

f  Tempo 
\  Kayei 

13 

4 

Mizunoe  ToraJ 
Kanoto  I  / 

9 

16 

J  Kyoho 

2 

Hinoto  Tori  \ 

62 

\  Anyei 

8 

Tsuchinoto  I) 

For  first  day  of  each  month,  consult  Bramsen’s1  chronological  tables  ;  taking  care  to  adjust 
dates  given  therein  to  the  English  calendar  by  deducting  io  days  between  15th  October, 
1582,  and  10th  March,  1700,  and  11  days  between  12th  March,  1700,  and  13th  September, 
1752. 

1  Published  in  1910  as  the  Supplement  of  Vol.  XXXVI,  Transactions  of  the  Asiatic  Society  of  Japan. 

xxvi 


LONG  AND  SHORT  MONTHS 
TABLE  IV  —  continued 

REMARKS  UPON  THE  ABOVE  GROUPS 

Except  in  the  last  two  years  of  groups  3  and  5,  in  the  first  two  years  of  group  4,  and  in 
the  two  years  of  groups  22,  34,  and  35,  when  the  intervening  number  of  years  is  but  nine, 
there  is  no  difficulty  in  determining  which  years  are  meant  when  only  the  long  or  short 
months  or  both  appear  on  a  print. 

The  following  examples  of  such  extreme  cases,  taken  from  surimono,  will  explain  the 
application  of  determining  factors. 

A.  On  a  surimono  by  Hokkei  are  the  long  months  2,  4,  7,  9,  11,  12,  which  of  themselves 
may  indicate  Tempo  17  or  Kokwa  2  ;  but  as  the  picture  represents  a  monkey  dancing 
at  the  instigation  of  his  trainer,  it  is  clear  that  the  Monkey  year  of  1836  is  meant. 

B.  On  a  surimono  by  Yeisen  are  the  short  months  3,  5,  6,  8,  10,  12,  which  of  themselves 
may  indicate  Tempo  13  or  Kayei  4 ;  but  as  Yeisen  died  in  Kayei  1  (1848)  it  is  clear 
that  the  former  year  is  meant. 

In  most  cases  the  E-To  of  the  year  also  appears  on  the  print,  e.g.  Hinoto  Ushi,  Hinoe 
Inu,  etc.,  when  no  confusion  can  arise,  for  in  no  single  case  in  the  above-mentioned  groups 
are  these  identical.  In  a  case  when  the  celestial  stem  is  omitted  and  the  zodiacal  sign  and 
long  or  short  months  given,  as  for  instance,  Inu  and  short  months  2,  4,  7,  9,  11,  it  is  clear 
that  Kyoho  15  is  meant,  despite  the  fact  that  these  months  are  also  common  to  Gembun  4, 
because  the  former  is  a  Dog  year,  whereas  the  latter  is  a  Goat  year. 

The  months  are  apportioned  to  the  seasons  as  follows  : — 

Haru,  Spring,  1st,  2nd,  and  3rd  months. 

Natsu,  Summer,  4th,  5th,  and  6th  months. 

Aki,  Autumn,  7th,  8th,  and  9th  months. 

Fuyu,  Winter,  10th,  nth,  and  12th  months. 


VARIOUS  FORMS  OF  NUMERALS  USED  TO  INDICATE  THE  MONTHS 


2.  3 

Shd 

First 

fl 

Ku 

Ninth 

-  % 

Ni 

Second 

«j« 

Ju 

Tenth 

A  2 

San 

Third 

± 

$9 

Ju-ichi 

Eleventh 

<ZS  TC. 

Shi 

Fourth 

±L 

Ju-ni 

Twelfth 

£.  %■ 

s 

Go 

Fifth 

A  "A 

Roku 

Sixth 

Pil 

£ 

£  Uru 

Intercalary 

■t 

Gwatsu 

Shichi 

Seventh 

n 

or 

■Month 

Hachi 

Eighth 

Tsuki  , 

Gwatsu  is  understood  after  each  numeral,  except  the  second  form  of  nth  month 
pronounced  Shimotsuki. 


XXV11 


THE  CENSORSHIP  OF  PRINTS 

A  censorship  of  printed  matter  in  general  was  instituted  by  the  Bakufu 
or  Shogun's  Government  during  the  last  quarter  of  the  18th  century.  In 
Yedo  the  administration  and  control  was  vested  in  one  of  the  two  Machi- 
bugyo  (Governors  and  City  Magistrates) ,  who  were  responsible  to  the 
Bakufu  that  nothing  calculated  to  throw  discredit  upon  the  Government 
or  subversive  of  public  morality  was  published,  and  that  copyright  was 
not  infringed. 

They  were  empowered  to  inflict  upon  anyone  who  contravened  the  laws 
various  punishments,  the  most  common  of  which  were  reprimand,  severe 
reprimand,  fines,  confiscation  of  unauthorised  matter  and  of  the  wood¬ 
blocks,  confinement  to  his  house  with  or  without  handcuffs,  imprisonment, 
and  banishment  from  Yedo  for  a  specified  period.  The  culprits  were 
usually  authors,  artists,  engravers,  printers,  and  publishers,  who  were 
each  and  all  severally  held  responsible  for  infraction  of  the  regulations. 
Censors,  too,  were  liable  to  punishment  when  such  infraction  was  due  to 
negligence  in  the  proper  performance  of  their  duties.  The  procedure 
adopted  was  briefly  as  follows.  The  artist's  original  sketch  had  to  be 
submitted  by  the  publisher  to  the  nearest  censor,  who,  if  satisfied  that  it 
fulfilled  the  statutes  of  the  law,  passed  and  returned  it  to  the  publisher, 
who  was  then  at  liberty  to  have  the  blocks  engraved  and  to  print  off  the 
desired  number  of  copies  for  sale. 

If  in  doubt,  the  censor  had  to  forward  it  to  the  censorship  department  in 
the  Machi-bugyo's  office,  where  the  matter  was  decided.  If  publication 
was  sanctioned,  the  censor  was  so  informed,  and  he  then  returned  it  with 
his  approval  to  the  publisher.  In  spite  of  the  apparent  thoroughness  of 
the  system,  abuses  crept  in  owing  to  evasion  on  the  part  of  publishers  or 
slackness  on  that  of  censors  ;  and  the  authorities  found  it  necessary  to 
issue  proclamations  from  time  to  time  directing  attention  to  such  abuses 
and  warning  censors  to  exercise  a  more  vigilant  inspection  in  future,  and 
to  bring  offenders  to  book.  In  the  7th  month  of  Kyoho  6  (1721)  an  edict 
was  promulgated  suspending,  amongst  other  matters,  the  printing  and 
sale  for  the  time  being  of  single-sheet  pictures  ( ichimai-ye ).  Again,  in  the 
5th  month  of  Kwansei  2  (1790),  a  similar  injunction  was  issued,  which  was 
modified  in  the  9th  month  of  that  year  as  follows  :  u  Despite  all  previous 
warnings,  books  have  assumed  an  improper  tone.  You,  Gyoji,  must  censor 
all  matter  intended  for  publication,  including  picture-books,  readers, 
novels,  etc. ;  and  any  that  are  harmful  to  morals  or  in  any  way  indecent 
must  be  forbidden.  Those  already  published  must  be  suppressed.  As 
regards  single-sheet  pictures,  those  with  pictures  only  may,  as  a  rule,  be 

xxviii 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


passed  ;  but  if  there  is  any  inscription  on  them,  you  must  inspect  it  most 
carefully ;  and  no  doubtful  matter  must  in  any  case  be  allowed  to  be 
published.  Persons  who  disregard  this  order  must  be  accused  by  you  in 
court.  Moreover,  if  your  censoring  is  imperfectly  carried  out,  or  if  you 
neglect  to  censor  at  all,  you  shall  be  held  personally  responsible. 

Those  whom  these  instructions  concern,  must  bear  them  well  in  mind, 
as  well  as  those  issued  in  the  Kyoho  period,  which  will  be  embodied  in 
this  proclamation.  Remember,  therefore,  this  injunction  as  also  all  previous 
ones,  and  see  to  it  that  you  carry  out  your  examination  in  a  proper  and 
vigilant  manner. 

The  above  addressed  to  the  Gyoji  of  the  Wholesale  Publishers'  Guild  in 
the  gth  month  of  the  2nd  year  of  Kwansei.” 

The  censors  referred  to  as  “  Gyoji  ”  were  wholesale  publishers  selected 
periodically  to  carry  out  the  duties  of  examining  all  matter  for  publication. 
They  were  of  proved  probity  and  well  connected  ;  but,  owing  to  careless¬ 
ness  or  negligence,  had  frequently  to  be  censured.  Sometimes  headmen 
of  wards  (Nanushi)  were  appointed  in  their  stead  ;  in  both  cases  the 
appointments  took  effect  from  the  commencement  of  each  year,  and  were 
for  a  certain  term  of  office  which  was  fixed  by  roster.  The  following 
example  of  a  roster  for  1840,  when  Nanushi  were  appointed,  will  explain 
the  system.1 

**  Monthly  Roster  of  Duties  for  the  superintending  Nanushi  in  charge, 
revised  in  the  1st  month  of  Tempd  n,  the  year  of  the  Rat. 


Fifth  and  twelfth  months 
Sixth  month 
Seventh  month 
Second  and  ninth  months 
First  and  eighth  months 
Third  and  tenth  months 
Fourth  and  eleventh  months 


Taruya  Saburoyemon. 
Wada  Genshichi. 
Takeguchi  Shoyemon. 
Otsuka  Gorobei. 
Takano  Shinyemon. 
Watanabe  Shoyemon. 
Fukatsu  Ihei." 


Immediately  following  the  edict  of  the  9th  month  of  1790,  official  censors 
impressed,  apparently  for  the  first  time,  a  seal  of  approval  (ken-in)  upon 
prints.  Prior  to  this,  no  such  seal  seems  to  have  been  in  use.  This  took 
the  form  of  a  round  seal  enclosing  the  character  “  Kiwame,"  as  reproduced 

1  Taken  from  a  document  in  the  possession  of  the  writer,  in  which  also  are  set  forth  the 
names  of  30  gyoji  of  the  Old  division,  23  of  the  New  division,  and  24  of  the  Supplementary 
division  held  in  waiting  in  cases  of  necessity.  In  addition  is  a  Notice  warning  the  public 
against  the  illegal  sale  of  prints  by  engravers. 


XXIX 


THE  CENSORSHIP  OF  PRINTS 


in  the  accompanying  table,  No.  i.  This  seal  was  in  use  alone  till  the  end 
of  Kwansei  n,  which  expired  on  January  24th,  1800 ;  and  continued  to 
be  used  either  singly  or  accompanied  by  or  in  combination  with  other  seals 
till  about  1845.  It  is  shown  in  ia  in  combination  with  seal  4,  meaning 
“  approved  ”  in  2nd  (month  =  1806) ;  a  combination  found  on  a  print  by 
Kiyomine,  but  not  so  far  elsewhere.  For  other  combinations,  see  Nos.  65 
to  67.  For  its  use  in  square  form,  see  Nos.  28  to  30.  It  has  nothing  to  do 
with  the  quality  of  a  print,  nor  with  its  authenticity,  except  indirectly  on 
the  presumption  that  the  censor  was  aware  of  the  artist's  identity.  It  is 
often  absent,  especially  between  1790  and  1800.  This  may  have  been 
due  partly  to  evasion  by  publishers  or  to  negligence  of  censors  ;  but  more 
generally  infringement  of  copyright  was  the  cause.  Its  absence,  therefore, 
is  of  itself  no  proof  that  a  print  antedates  1790  ;  though,  taken  with  other 
factors,  it  often  affords  valuable  evidence  that  such  was  the  case.  As 
regards  infringement  of  copyright,  we  have  proof  of  such  in  the  document 
of  1840  already  mentioned.  Briefly  it  reads  as  follows  : 

44  Notice  to  the  Public .  *  All  printed  matter  was  of  old  authorized  to  be 
sold  by  recognized  wholesale  publishers  ;  but  recently  block-cutters  have  been 
placing  on  the  market  printed  matter  without  authority .  We,  therefore . 
instituted  proceedings  in  the  Appeal  Court ,  which  decided  that  block-cutters 
were  only  allowed  to  cut  blocks  ;  but  that  printing  and  the  sale  of  printed 
matter  was  entirely  in  the  hands  of  authorized  publishers .  In  consequence  of 
this  decision,  we,  the  undersigned,  beg  to  acquaint  the  public  that  henceforth  all 
printed  matter  for  sale  by  authorized  publishers  will  bear  such  names  or  seals 
as  are  affixed  hereto  {which  here  follow )  :  Printers *  Guild  of  Wholesale 
Publishers'  Dated  10 th  Month,  1840." 

Okumura  Masanobu  and  Kitagawa  Utamaro  were  both  compelled  to 
attach  the  words  Sh5mei,  i.e.  44  genuine  name,"  to  their  signatures 
to  protect  themselves  from  contemporary  forgeries ;  and  there  is  little 
doubt  that  in  their  time,  too,  engravers  were  responsible  for  most  of  the 
counterfeits. 

The  following  notes  will  explain  the  remaining  seals  in  the  accompanying 
table,  which  includes  the  greater  majority  of  censor  and  date  seals  and  are 
typical  of  the  few  omitted. 

No.  2.  Saru  sho,  i.e.  Monkey  (year)  1st  (month),  corresponding  to  1800, 
Found  on  prints  by  Shik5  (II  t)  and  Toyokuni  I.  The  same  seal, 
but  for  the  2nd  month,  occurs  on  a  print  by  the  latter. 


xxx 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


A  to  M  inclusive  contain  the  names  in  abbreviated  form  of  some  whole¬ 
sale  publishers  who  acted  as  gydji .  They  are  usually  accompanied  by 
Kiwame  seal  No.  i.  Detailed  explanation  as  below. 

A.  Tsu-ji ;  full  name  uncertain.  Perhaps  Tstimura  Ji  i 

B.  Yama-guchi,  i.e.  Yamaguchiya  Tobei. 

C.  Another  form  of  Yama-guchi ;  perhaps  Yamaguchiya  Chusuke. 

D.  Mura-ji,  i.e.  Murataya  Jirobei. 

E.  Nishi-miya,  i.e.  Nishinomiya  Shinroku. 

F.  Mori-ji,  i.e.  Mori-ya  Jihei. 

G.  Kami-mura,  i.e.  Kami-  (or  Uye-)  mura  Kichiyemon. 

H.  Gyoji  aratame.  This  means  “  examined  by  a  Gyoji,”  whose  name 
is  not  given.  It  affords  interesting  evidence  of  what  has  been  said. 
Found  on  a  print  by  Toyokuni  I,  dated  1813. 

I.  Yama-to,  i.e.  Yamaguchiya  Tobei.  Compare  B  above. 

J.  Iwa-to,  i.e.  Iwatoya  Kisaburo. 

K.  Tai-ho.  This  publisher  has  not  been  identified. 

L.  Tsuru-kin,  i.e.  Tsuruya  Kinsuke. 

M.  Ryu-sa-burd.  Not  identified.  Found  on  one  print  only  by  Yeizan. 

The  first  of  these,  Tsu-ji,  is  found  on  prints  by  most  artists  working 
from  1804  to  1817.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  it  occurs  on  a  print 
by  Kiyonaga  of  a  Kintoki  series  dating  from  about  1804.  Another  of 
this  artist's  prints — children's  amusements — is  dated  1799,  but  not  with  a 
date-seal. 

These  two  instances  are  given  to  show  that,  though  Kiyonaga  practically 
gave  up  print- designing  in  the  beginning  of  Kwansei,  he  occasionally 
returned  to  work.  One  of  his  surimono  is  dated  2nd  month  of  Bunkwa  2 

♦ 

No.  3.  a  =  hachi ,  eight ;  b  =  ju,  ten  ;  c  also  =  ju,  ten  ;  d  =  juni, 
twelve.  These  four  stand  respectively  for  the  8th,  10th,  and  12th 
months  of  1805. 

Nos.  32,  4  and  4a.  3e  =  sho ,  first ;  4  =  ni,  two  ;  4 a  =  shi ,  four.  These 
three  stand  for  the  1st,  2nd,  and  4th  months  of  1806. 

Nos.  5  to  10  read  in  rotation  :  Tora  go,  roku,  shichi,  ju,  ju  ichi,  ju  ni ; 
i.e.  Tiger  (year),  5,  6,  7,  10,  11,  12  (months)  of  Bunkwa  3.  For 
corresponding  dates,  see  Chronological  Table.  Also  for  those 
below. 

Nos.  11  to  17  read  in  rotation  :  U  san,  go,  roku,  hachi,  ku,  ju  ichi  (two 
forms) ;  i.e.  Hare  (year),  3,  5,  6,  8,  9,  1 1  (months)  of  Bunkwa  4. 


xxxi 


THE  CENSORSHIP  OF  PRINTS 


Nos.  18  to  20  read  in  rotation  :  Tatsu  shi,  go,  ju  ;  i.e.  Dragon  (year)  4, 5, 10 
(months)  of  Bunkwa  5. 

No.  21.  Mi  ni,  i.e.  Snake  (year)  2  (month)  of  Bunkwa  6. 

No.  22.  Uma  hachi,  i.e.  Horse  (year)  8  (month)  of  Bunkwa  7. 

No.  23.  Hitsuji  ni,  i.e.  Goat  (year)  2  (month)  of  Bunkwa  8. 

No.  24.  Inu  hachi,  i.e.  Dog  (year)  8  (month)  of  Bunkwa  n. 

No.  25.  Inu  shichi,  i.e.  Dog  (year)  7  (month)  of  Bunkwa  n. 

Nos.  26  to  35  inclusive  are  found  on  Uchiwa-ye  or  fan  pictures. 

No.  26.  Tora  aratame,  i.e.  examined  in  Tiger  (year)  =  1818. 

No.  27.  U  aratame,  i.e.  examined  in  Hare  (year)  =  1819. 

No.  28.  Saru  kiwame,  i.e.  approved  in  Monkey  (year)  =  1824. 

No.  29.  Inu  kiwame,  i.e.  approved  in  Dog  (year)  =  1826. 

No.  30.  I  and  I  kiwame,  i.e.  Boar  (year)  and  Boar  (year)  approved. 
Both  equal  1827  >  the  kiwame  being  omitted  in  the  first,  perhaps  by 
mistake  of  engraver. 

No.  31.  Ne,  i.e.  Rat  (year)  =  1828.  j  Kiwame  omitted  as  in  30  (1) 

No.  32.  Ushi,  i.e.  Ox  (year)  =  1829.  j  above. 

No.  33.  Tora  aratame,  i.e.  Tiger  (year)  examined  =  1830. 

No.  34.  U  aratame,  i.e.  Hare  (year)  examined  =  1831. 

No.  35.  Tatsu  aratame,  i.e.  Dragon  (year)  examined  =  1832. 

Nos.  36  to  49  inclusive  read  in  rotation  :  Fu,  Take,  Mura,  Watari, 
Watanabe,  Mura-matsu,  Ta-naka  (two  forms),  Magomi,  Fuku, 
Mura-ta,  Yoshi-mura,  Me-ra,  Kinu-gasa,  and  Hama.  These  are 
the  abbreviated  names  of  Nanushi,  three  of  whom  are  found  with 
their  full  names  in  the  roster  above-quoted ;  viz.  Fu  (-katsu  Ihei), 
Take  (-guchi  Shoyemon),  and  Wata  or  Watanabe  (Shoyemon). 

No.  50.  (a)  The  oval  aratame  seal ;  (6)  the  round  aratame  seal ;  each 
meaning  “  examined.’'  The  first  in  use  from  1848  to  1851,  and  the 
last  from  Dec.  1853  to  1857  inclusive. 

Nos.  51  to  58  read  in  rotation  :  Ne  roku,  i.e.  Rat  (year)  6th  (month)  = 
1852  ;  Ushi  ju  ichi,  i.e.  Ox  (year)  nth  (month)  =  1853  ;  Tora  ni, 
i.e.  Tiger  (year)  2nd  (month)  =  1854  ;  Ne  uru,  i.e.  Rat  (year)  inter¬ 
calary  (month)  =  1852,  2nd  month  extra ;  U  ju  ni,  i.e.  Hare  (year) 
12th  (month),  began  8th  January,  1856  ;  Tatsu  ku,  i.e.  Dragon 
(year)  9th  (month)  =  1856 ;  Mi  hachi,  i.e.  Snake  (year)  eighth 
(month)  =  1857;  Uma  ni,  i.e.  Horse  2  =  1858.  After  the  nth 
month  of  Ox  year,  which  began  on  30th  December,  1853,  the  round 
aratame  seal  accompanies  these  seals,  except  during  the  Horse  year 
of  1858,  when  for  some  unknown  reason  it  was  omitted. 

xxxii 


THE  CENSORSHIP  OF  PRINTS 


Nos.  59  and  60  read  respectively  Ne  uru,  i.e.  Rat  (year),  intercalary  (2nd 
month)  =  1852  ;  and  Ushi  shd,  i.e.  Ox  (year)  1st  (month)  =  1853. 
These  are  usually  accompanied  by  one  or  other  of  the  Nanushi  seals 
40  to  49,  and  are  seen  only  on  Fan  prints,  as  also  are  Nos.  61  to  67. 
Nos.  61  to  64  read  in  rotation  :  Tiger  5  =  1854 ;  Hare  2  =  1855  ; 

Dragon  2  =  1856  ;  Snake  2  =  1857. 

Nos.  65  to  67  read  in  rotation  :  Horse  (1858)  approved  ;  Goat  (1859) 
approved  ;  Monkey  (i860)  approved. 

Nos.  68  to  82  are  incorporated  with  the  aratame  seal,  and  read  in  rotation 
as  follows.  (To  avoid  repetition,  the  transliteration  from  the 
vernacular  is  here  omitted,  as  in  the  two  previous  categories  61  to  67.) 
Nos.  68  and  69  Goat  1  =  1859,  examined  ;  Monkey  3rd  intercalary  = 
i860,  examined ;  Cock  8  =  1861,  examined ;  Dog  1  =  1862,  examined  ; 
Boar  4  =  1863,  examined  ;  Gen-ji,  i.e.  Genji  (period)  =  1864 ; 
Rat  1  =  1864,  examined  ;  Ox  12  examined,  began  January  17th, 
1866  ;  Tiger  4  =  1866,  examined  ;  Hare  5  =  1867,  examined  ; 
Dragon  10  =  1868,  examined  ;  Snake  1  =  1869,  examined  ;  Horse 
intercalary  (10th  month)  =  1870,  examined;  Horse  11=  1870, 
examined. 

No.  83  reads  Cock  9  =  1872. 

No.  84  reads  Dog  11  =  1874. 

Several  of  these  date-seals  found  on  prints  of  actors  in  character  from 
some  particular  play  have  been  checked  with  the  date  upon  which  the 
play  in  question  was  produced,  and  in  each  case  the  dates  correspond. 
This  proves  that  the  artist's  design  practically  coincided  with  the  date  of 
production  of  a  play ;  and  this  was  probably  the  case  during  the  years 
before  date-seals  were  used.  Consequently  a  print  identified  from  the 
stage  records  as  representing  a  scene  from  a  certain  play  may  be  confidently 
dated  as  having  been  designed  on  or  about  the  date  upon  which  the  play 
was  produced. 


xxxiii 


c 


SPECIMENS  OF  SOME  CENSOR  SEALS 
FROM  NOV.,  1790,  TO  DEC.,  1874 

INCLUSIVE  APPROXIMATE  DATES  BETWEEN  WHICH 
CENSOR  SEALS  OF  THE  TYPE  SHOWN  ON  THE 
OPPOSITE  PAGE  WERE  IN  USE 


Number  of  Seal. 

Dates. 

Number  of  Seal. 

Dates. 

I 

Kiwame  seal, 
November,  1790, 
to 

January,  1845, 
either  singly 
or  accompanied 
by  other  seals. 

27 

1819 

28 

1824 

r 

29 

1826 

13  { 

30 

1827 

2 

1800 

31 

1828 

3a,  b,  c,  d 

8-12  mo.  1805-6 

32 

X829 

3e>  4>  4a 

1-4  mo.  1806 

33 

1830 

5-10 

5-12  mo.  1806-7 

34 

1831 

11-17 

1807-1808 

35 

1832 

18-20 

1808 

36-49 

1840-1853 

21 

1809 

50-58 

1848-1858 

22 

1810 

59-60 

1852-1853,  with  seals  40-49 

23 

1811 

61-64 

1854-1857,  with  seal  50 

24-25 

1814 

65-67 

1858-1860 

26 

1818 

68—84 

1859-1874 

XXXIV 


SPECIMENS  OF  SOME  CENSOR  SEALS  FROM 
NOVEMBER,  1790,  TO  DECEMBER,  1874 


Note, — Seals  A  to  M  are  abbreviations  of  Censors’  names,  and  were  in  use  from  1804  to  1817. 


XXXV 


ACTORS’  MON 

When  an  actor's  name  was  inscribed  on  a  print,  it  usually  took  the  form 
of  his  professional  name  ( geimei )  by  which  he  was  known  to  the  public, 
e.g.  Segawa  Kikunojo.  Sometimes  his  haimyo  or  literary  name,  which  in 
the  above  example  was  Roko,  was  added  or  substituted.  More  rarely  he 
was  indicated  by  his  ya-go  (or  ka-mei)  and  haimyo,  e.g.  Sakai-ya  Shukwaku, 
the  actor  whose  geimei  was  Nakamura  Nakazo  II ;  or  by  his  ya-go  alone, 
e.g.  Korai-ya,  the  actor  whose  geimei  was  Ichikawa  Komazo  II  and  whose 
haimyo  was  Kinsho.  Each  actor  used  two  Mon  called  Jo  and  Kae ,  meaning 
u  Fixed  ''  and  “  Alternative  ''  respectively.  The  Jo-mon  was  used  when 
in  stage  costume,  and  was  frequently  common  to  actors  belonging  to  the 
same  Ke  or  Line.  The  Kae-mon  was  more  personal  and,  though  occasion¬ 
ally  found  on  prints  of  actors  in  character,  was  generally  reserved  for 
private  attire.  In  exceptional  cases  both  Mon  appear  on  a  print. 

In  the  following  table  of  1 1 1  selected  Mon  of  actors  who  appeared  on  the 
Yedo  stage  during  the  18th  century,  it  has  been  necessary,  in  order  to  permit 
of  the  explanatory  text  appearing  on  the  same  page  and  opposite  to  the 
Mon  to  which  it  refers,  to  make  the  same  as  brief  as  possible.  The  following 
remarks  will  elucidate  the  system  adopted  and  the  abbreviations  that  have 
been  employed. 

1.  The  serial  numbers  in  the  text  correspond  to  those  of  the  Mon . 

2.  The  Mon,  except  when  otherwise  stated,  are  Jo-mon . 

3.  An  actor's  geimei  is  printed  in  larger  type  than  his  yago  or  haimyo 
which  follow  and  are  printed  in  italics. 

4.  When  dates  of  birth  and  death  are  known  they  follow  immediately 
after  the  geimei  or  haimyo ,  as  the  case  may  be. 

5.  In  recording  changes  of  geimei  and  the  dates  of  such  changes  the 
letters  FN  stand  for  the  first  geimei  by  which  an  actor  was  known. 
The  letters  PN  stand  for  Present  Name,  and  refer  to  the  geimei  immedi¬ 
ately  following  the  serial  number. 

6.  The  letters  M  or  F,  meaning  male  or  female,  represent  the  role  in 
which  an  actor  specialized.  In  cases  where  he  played  both  male  and 
female  parts,  M  precedes  F,  or  vice  versa,  according  to  which  of  the 
two  roles  he  mostly  impersonated. 

7.  The  word  Act,  followed  by  dates,  represent  an  actor's  activity  on  the 
Yedo  stage  during  the  18th  century. 

A  more  or  less  chronological  sequence  based  on  the  year  of  birth  has 
been  preserved. 


xxxvii 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


The  reproductions  of  the  Mon  on  white  or  on  black  ground  have  no 
special  significance,  as  such  was  dependent  on  whether  dark  or  light 
garments  were  worn  by  the  actor  depicted  on  the  print  from  which  the 
particular  Mon  was  traced. 

There  is  no  exact  foreign  equivalent  to  the  Mon.  Hence  the  Japanese 
word  has  been  used  throughout.  Its  nature  is  that  of  a  badge  or  design 
dyed  or  wrought  in  cloth.  In  the  case  of  an  actor,  his  Jo-mon  indicates 
the  Ke  or  Line  of  Actors  to  which  he  belongs  ;  his  Kae-mon  identifies  the 
actor  himself. 


xxxvm 


TABLE  OF  ACTORS’  MON 

WITH  DATES  OF  BIRTH  AND  DEATH  WHEN  KNOWN 

AND  ACTUAL  OR  APPROXIMATE  DATES  OF  THEIR 
ACTIVITY  AT  YEDO  DURING  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY 

Note. — Mon  i  to  21  are  those  of  Actors  whose  activity  ceased  prior  to  1730.  The  first  12 
specialized  in  female  roles,  the  remaining  9  in  male  roles. 


1.  Sawamura  Kodenji.  Act.:  1700-1703. 

2.  Kamimura  Kichisaburo.  Act. :  1700-1708. 

3.  Sodezaki  Nuinosuke.  Act.:  1703-1711. 


4.  Nishikawa  Konosuke.  Act. :  1700-1702. 

5.  Nakamura  Senya.  Act. :  Dec.  1716-Oct.  1718. 

6.  Iwai  Sagenda.  Act. :  1700-1712. 


7.  Matsushima  HyStaro.  Act.:  1700-1702 ;  Dec.,  1724-Oct.,  1725. 

8.  Yoshizawa  Ayame  I.  1673-1729.  Act. :  Dec.  1713-Oct.  1714. 

9.  Nakamura  Takesaburo.  Died,  1724-  Act. :  1700-1720. 


10.  Tsutsui  Kichijuro.  Died,  1727.  Act. :  1704-1715. 

11.  Arashi  Kiyosaburo.  Died,  1713.  Act.:  Dec.  1707-Oct.  1709  ; 
Dec.  1711-April  1713.  Note. — This  actor  was  the  first  to  play  the 
part  of  O  Shichi  when  that  character  was  introduced  into  the  play 
“  Arashi  Soga,”  produced  at  the  Nakamura  Theatre  in  the  spring 
of  Hoyei  5  (began  on  January  12,  1708).  His  success  was  such 
that  his  Mon  was  used  in  future  (as  an  indication  of  the  role)  by 
actors  playing  O  Shichi,  in  addition  to  their  own  Mon. 

12.  Hayakawa  Hasse.  Act.:  Dec.  1703-Dec.  1713;  Aug.  1737- 
Dec.  1728. 


13.  Ichikawa  DanjOro  I,  Naritaya  Saigyu.  1660-1704.  Act.:  1700- 
Feb.  1704. 

14.  Nakamura  Shichisaburo  I.  Died,  1708.  Act. :  Nov.  1700- 
Mar.  1707. 

15.  Nakamura  Denkuro  I,  Maizuru.  Died,  1713.  Act.:  1700- 
Mar.  1713. 


16.  Yamanaka  Heikuro,  Senka.  1632-1724'  Act.:  1700-1722. 

17.  Ichikawa  Monnosuke  I.  Died,  1729-  Act.:  1700-Dec.  1727. 

18.  Katsuyama  Matagor5.  Act. :  1707-1723. 


19.  Iwai  Hanshiro  II.  M.  Act. :  1700-1710.  Note—  Hanshiro  III. 
1703-1759.  M.  F.  Act. :  1722-1756  at  irregular  intervals;  used  a 
similar  Mon. 


Tomizawa  Hansaburo.  M.  Act. :  1710-1718. 

Nakajima  Kanzayemon  I.  1662-1716.  M.  Act. :  1700-1710. 
Note. — Nakajima  Mioyemon  I.  1702-1764-  M- Act. :  Dec.  1714- 
Mar.  1762  used  a  similar  Mon;  as  did  Mioyemon  II,  M.  F.  N. 
Miozo.  Act.:  1755-1782. 


XXXIX 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


TABLE  OF  ACTORS'  MON  —  continued 


22.  Matsumoto  KosHrao  I.  1674-1730.  M.  Act. :  Feb.  1700-Dec.  1729. 

23.  Ogawa  Zengoro.  M.  Act. :  c.  1711-1732. 

24-  Ichikawa  Danzo  I,  Shiko.  1684-1740.  M.  Act. :  1695-Feb.  1740. 
Used  this  Mon  from  Dec.  1715  to  Dec.  1731,  when  he  removed  the  ideo¬ 
graph  “  Ichi.” 


25.  Nakamura  Kichibei.  1684-1765.  M.  Act. :  c.  Feb.  I7i6-March,  1739. 

26.  Sodeoka  Shotaro.  F.  Act. :  c.  1716-1733. 

27.  Bando  Hikosaburo  I,  Shinsui.  Died,  1751.  M.  Act. :  Dec.  1729-Nov. 
1734;  Feb.  1738-Dec.  1749. 


28.  Arashi  Sangoro,  Raishi.  1687-1739.  M.  Act. :  Dec.  1726-Oct.  1729. 

29.  Otani  Hiroyemon  II.  Died,  1748.  F.  N. :  Ryuzayemon.  P.  N. :  Dec. 
1745.  M.  Act. :  c.  1725-Dec.  1747. 

30.  Ichikawa  Sosaburo.  1687-1754.  M.  Act. :  July,  1731-Dec.  1753. 


31.  Ichikawa  Danjuro  II,  Sansho  and  Hakuyen.  1688-1758.  F.  N. :  Kuzo. 
P.  N.  :  Aug.  1703  ;  Yebizo,  Dec.  1735.  M.  Act. :  1697-Oct.  1741  ;  Dec. 
1742-Sept.  1756. 

32.  Sawamura  Sojuro  I,  Tosshi.  1689-1756.  Changed  to  Chojuro,  Dec.  1747; 
to  Suketakaya  Takasuke,  Dec.  1753.  M.  Act. :  Dec.  1718-Sep.  1743  ; 
Dec.  1744-Nov.  1746  ;  Dec.  1747-Dec.  1755. 

33.  Sanogawa  Mangiku.  1690-1747.  F.  and  M.  Act. :  Dec.  1718-Sep.  1724  : 
Dec.  1729-Oct.  1731  ;  Dec.  1741-Mar.  1743. 


34.  Sodezaki  Miwano.  F.  Act. :  c.  1725-Dec.  1735. 

35.  Hayakawa  Shinkatsu.  F.  Act.:  c.  1703-Dec.  1707;  Dec.  1711-Oct. 
1738. 

36.  Yamashita  Kinsaku  I.  Died,  1750.  F.  Act.:  Dec.  1711-Dec.  1717; 
1723-1727;  Dec.  1741-Mar.  1742. 


37.  Anegawa  Shinshir5.  1690-1749.  M.  Act.:  Dec.  1732-Nov.  1734. 
Kaemon. 

38.  Fujimura  Hanjuro.  F.  N. :  Handayu.  P.  N. :  Dec.  1729-  M.  F.  Act. ; 
c.  1714-1758. 

39.  Segawa  KikunojS  I,  Rokd.  1690-1749.  F.  Act. :  Dec.  1730-Oct.  1737  ; 
Dec.  1741-Mar.  1748. 


40.  Ogino  Isaburo.  1694-1748.  M. and  F.  Act. :  c.  1724-July,  1747.  Kaemon. 

41.  Jomon  of  the  above,  and  of  the  Ogino  Ke  in  general. 

42.  Sodezaki  Iseno.  F.  Act. :  c.  1726-Dec.  1745. 

43.  Sanj6  Kantaro.  1697-1763.  Changed  to  Hanai  Saisaburo  II  in  Dec. 
1746.  M.  F.  Act. :  Aug.  1714-July,  1749. 

44.  Arashi  Otohachi,  Wako.  1695-1769.  F.  N. :  Otanosuke.  M.  Act.: 
1732-Dec.  1768. 

45.  Otani  Hiroji  I,  Jitcho.  1699-1747-  M.  Act. :  Dec.  1701-Oct.  1723 ; 
Dec.  1727-Oct.  1737;  Dec.  1741-Dec.  1743.  Same  Mon  was  used  by 
Hiroji  II,  died,  1757.  F.  N. :  Bunzo ;  Dec.  1736  changed  to  Bando 
Matataro ;  Dec.  1743  to  Otani  Oniji  I.  P.  N. :  Dec.  1748.  M.  Act. : 
Dec.  1735-Feb.  1756. 

46.  Ichimura  Uzayemon  VIII,  Kako.  1699-1762.  F.  N. :  Takenojo  ;  Dec. 
1737,  Uzayemon  ;  P.  N.  with  U  written  differently,  1751.  M.  Act. :  1709- 

X75g. 

47.  Yoshizawa  Ayame  II,  Shunsui.  1702-1754-  F.  N. :  Sakinosuke  II.  P.  N. 
Dec.  1729.  F.  Act. :  Dec.  1745-Oct.  1752.  Note— Ayame  III  did  not 
act  at  Yedo.  Ayame  IV,  Tachibanaya  Shunsui,  1739-1792,  used  same  Mon. 
F.  N.  Yamashita  Koshikibu  and  Ichigoro ;  1755,  Yoshizawa  Goroichi ; 
1764  Sakinosuke  III ;  P.  N.  Dec.  1778. 

48.  Arashi  Wakano.  F.  M.  Act. :  1722-1726  ;  Dec.  1752-1758. 

49.  Nakamura  Shichisaburo  II,  Shocho.  1703-1774-  In  Dec.  1770  became 
Nakamura  Shocho.  M.  Act. :  Feb.  1711-Dec.  1773- 

50.  The  Kae-mon  of  the  above.  . 

51.  Tsu-uchi  Monsaburo,  Shoko.  170371753-  F.  N.  Otani  Rokuzo.  P.N. 
1730.  Changed  to  Tsuyama  Tomozo,  Dec.  1751-  M.  Act. :  1734-Oct. 
1738 ;  Dec.  1740-April,  1742 ;  Dec.  1747-Dec.  1751. 


xl 


TABLE  OF  ACTORS'  MON 


TABLE  OF  ACTORS’  MON — continued 


52.  Tsuruya  Namboku.  1708-1763.  M.  Act. :  Dec.  1732-July  1752. 

53.  Arashi  Koroku  I,  Sancho.  1708-1786.  F.  Act.  :  Dec.  1746-Dec. 
1755.  Note. — The  same  Mon  was  used  by  Arashi  Hinaji.  Act.:  1763- 
Dec.  1774.  M.  F. 

54.  Nakamura  Sukegoro  I.  Gyoraku.  1711-1763.  F.  N. :  Kumetaro 
Dec.  1736  changed  to  Sengoku  Sukegoro  ;  P.  N.  :  Dec.  1739.  M.  Act. 
Dec.  1725-Mar.  1763. 


55.  Matsumoto  Koshiro  II,  Goryu.  1711-1778.  F.  N. :  Shichizo ; 
P.  N. :  Dec.  1735  ;  became  Danjuro  IV  in  Dec.  1754,  changing  Jo-mon 
to  No.  56  and  taking  No.  57  as  Kae-mon.  Reverted  to  Koshiro  II  in 
Dec.  1770  ;  became  Ichikawa  Yebizo  II  in  Dec.  1772.  M.  Act. :  1719- 
Mar.  1774;  Dec.  1775-Sep.  1776. 


58.  Takinaka  Kasen.  1713-1770.  F.  N. :  Takenaka  Kasen  ;  P.  N.  : 
Feb.  1739 ;  changed  to  Utagawa  Shirogoro  in  Dec.  1743  !  to  Sawa- 
mura  Sojuro  II  in  Oct.  1749,  taking  Mon  No.  59.  F.  M.  Act. :  I734~ 
Nov.  1769.  Hamyo  when  Sojuro,  Tosshi. 

60.  Nakamura  Utayemon  I,  Kagaya  Issen.  1714-1791.  M.  Act. :  April 
1757-Dec.  1761 ;  Dec.  1768-Dec.  1770.  Note. — Was  first  called 
Utanosuke,  but  not  at  Yedo. 


61.  The  Kae-mon  of  the  above. 

62.  Segawa  Kikujiro,  Sengyo.  1715-1756.  F.  Act.:  Dec.  1731-Oct. 
1737;  Dec.  1739-April  1742;  Dec.  1743-Dec.  1755. 

63.  Onoye  Kikugoro  I,  Baiko.  1717-1783.  F.  M.  Act. :  Dec.  1742- 
Sep.  1766  ;  Dec.  1769-Dec.  1773. 


64.  Jo-mon  of  the  above  from  and  including  Dec.  1752. 

65.  Ichikawa  Danzo  III,  Mikawaya  Shiko.  1719-1772.  F.  N. :  Bando 
Jirosaburo;  then  Ichikawa  Jirosa(-buro) ;  Dec.  1739.  Ichikawa 
Dansaburo  II ;  P.  N. :  Dec.  1740.  M.  Act. :  1739-Dec.  1744  ; 
Dec.  1761-Dec.  1765 ;  Dec.  1766-Feb.  1772.  Note. — The  Mon 
shown  in  his  Kae-mon.  His  Jo-mon  is  the  same  as  No.  56. 

66.  Nakamura  Denkuro  II,  Maizuru.  1719-1777.  F.  N. :  Katsujuro: 
P.  N. :  Nov.  1745.  Changed  to  Kansaburo  VIII  in  Dec.  1775-  M. 
Act. :  Dec.  1733-Dec.  1775. 


67.  Tomizawa  Montaro.  F.  Act. :  c.  1730-0.  1749. 

68.  Tamazawa  Saijiro.  F.  M.  Act. :  c.  1733-c.  1751. 

69.  Nakamura  Tomijuro  I,  Keishi.  1719-1786.  F.  M.  Act. :  July  to 
Nov.  1731  ;  April  1742-july  1743  ;  Dec.  1752-Oct.  1757  ;  Dec.  1770- 
Dec.  1778. 

70.  Ichikawa  Masugoro,  Sansho.  1721-1742.  In  Dec.  1735  became 
Danjuro  III.  M.  F.  Act. :  Dec.  1727-April  1741.  Note. — Sometimes 
used  same  Mon  without  the  "  masu  "  in  the  centre. 

7t.  Nakamura  Kiyosaburo.  1721-1777.  F.  Act. :  Dec.  1749-Nov. 
1752  ;  Dec.  1754-Oct.  1758. 

72.  Sanogawa  Ichimatsu  I,  Seifu.  1722-1763.  M.  F.  Act. :  Feb.  1741- 
Aug.  1744  ;  Dec.  1744-April  1762. 

73-  Azuma  Tozo  I,  1723-1776.  F.  N. :  Ikujima  Daikichi ;  P.  N.  :  Nov. 
1747.  Changed  to  Agemaki  Rinya  in  Dec.  1756.  Reverted  to  Tozo 
in  Oct.  1760.  F.  Act. :  1730-Dec.  1774. 

74-  Nakamura  Kumetaro  I,  Richo.  1724-1777.  F.  Act. :  Dec.  1748- 
Aug.  1755. 

75-  Ichimura  Uzayemon  IX,  Kakitsu.  1724-1785.  F.  N. :  Manzo ; 
Feb.  1745,  Kamezo  ;  P.  N.  :  Oct.  1762.  M.  Act. :  Dec.  1731-July 
1761;  Dec.  J76i-Mar.  1785.  This  is  his  Kae-mon  ;  his  Jo-mon  as  for 
No.  46. 

76.  Ichikawa  Raizo  I,  Tokaiya  Gempei.  1724-1767.  F.  N. :  Arashi 
Tamagashiwa  :  Dec.  1753,  Ichikawa  Masuzo ;  P.  N. :  Dec.  1761. 
M.  F.  Act.:  Feb.-Aug.  1743:  June  1748;  Dec.  1750;  Feb.  1753- 
Dec.  1766.  The  Mon  shown  is  his  Kae-mon.  His  Jo-mon  as  for  No.  56, 
sometimes  with  "  Rai  "  in  centre. 

77.  Osagawa  Tsuneyo  I.  1724-1766.  F.  Act. :  Dec.  1750-1766. 

78.  Morita  Kanya  VI,  Zankyo.  1725-1780.  F.  N. :  Takinaka  Shieenoi ; 
1740,  Sawamura  Shigenoi ;  Dec.  1746,  Sawamura  Kodenji ;  P.  N.  : 
Dec.  1747.  M.  F.  Act. :  c.  1736-Dec.  1770. 

79.  Ichikawa  Yaozo  I.  1730-1759.  F.  N. :  Matsujima  Yaozo  ;  P.  N.  : 
Aug.  1749.  M.  Act. :  1747-July  1759. 

80.  Yamashita  Kinsaku  II,  Tennojiya  Riko.  1733-1799.  F.  N. :  Naka¬ 
mura  Handayu  ;  P.  N. :  Dec.  1749.  F.  Act. :  Dec.  1752-Dec.  1758  ; 
Feb.  1770-Dec.  1780;  Dec.  1794. 

81.  Sakata  Hangoro  II.  1764-1782.  F.  N.  Sengoku  Sajuro  :  P.  N.  : 
Aug.  1749-  M.  Act.:  Dec.  1742-Oct.  1771 ,  April  1773-May  1782. 
Note. — Hangoro  III,  1756-1795,  used  same  Jo-mon.  F.  N. :  Bando 
Kumajiro,  then  Kumajuro,  and  later  Sakata  Hanjuro  ;  P.  N.  in  1783. 

xli 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


TABLE  OF  ACTORS’  MON  —  continued. 


82.  The  Kae-mon  of  Hangoro  II. 

83.  Ichikawa  Yaozo  II,  Chusha.  1735-1777.  F.  N. :  Nakamura  Denzo  ;  P.N. : 
Dec.  1763.  M.  Act. :  1751-June  1777.  Note. — Mon  shown  is  his  Kae-mon  ; 
for  Jo-mon  he  used  No.  79. 

84.  Nakamura  Nakazo  I,  Sakaeya  Shukwaku.  1736-1790.  F.  N. :  Ichi-juro ; 
soon  after  took  P.  N.  M.  Act. :  Dec.  1745 ;  May  20,  1748;  Dec.  1754-Aug. 
1789.  Mon  84  was  his  Kae-mon.  Mon  B  was  in  use  from  Dec.  1785  to  Dec. 
I786,_when  he  called  himself  Nakayama  Kojuro,  afterwards  reverting  to  P.  N . 
As  Jo-mon,  he  used  No.  15,  generally  with  ideograph  “  naka  "  in  centre,  to 
which  he  added  the  “  nimben,"  as  seen  in  No.  107,  from  Dec.  1760. 

85.  Matsumoto  Koshiro  IV,  Koraiya  Kinko.  1737-1802.  F.  N. :  Segawa 
Kinji ;  Dec.  1757,  Ichikawa  Takejuro;  Feb.  1763,  Somegoro ;  Dec.  1763, 
Komazo  I ;  P.  N. :  Dec.  1772.  M.  Act.  :  Dec.  1754-Oct.  1758  ;  Dec.  1760- 
Sep.  1784;  Feb.  1786-Oct.  1800.  Jo-mon  No.  55.  Mon  shown  is  his  Kae-mon. 

86.  Bando  Hikosaburo  II.  1741-1768.  F.  N.  :  Kikumatsu.  P.  N.  :  Feb.  1754. 
M.  Act. :  Dec.  1749-Feb.  1768. 

87.  Segawa  Kikunojo  II,  Hamamuraya  Roko.  1741-1773.  F.  N. :  Kichiji ; 
P.  N.:  Dec.  1756.  F.  Act. :  1750-Mar.  1772.  Mon  is  his  Kae-mon  ;  Jo-mon 
as  for  No.  39. 

88.  Ichikawa  Danjuro  V,  Naritaya  Sansho,  later  Hakuyen.  1741-1806.  F.  N.  : 
Matsumoto  Kozo  ;  Dec.  1754,  Koshiro  III ;  P.  N. :  Dec.  1770  ;  Dec.  1791, 
Yebizo  III.  M.  Act. :  Feb.  1754-Dec.  1796  ;  Dec.  1800-1  ;  March  1802. 

89.  Nakamura  Matsuye,  Riko.  1742-1786.  F.  N.  :  Matsuyemon  ;  P.  N. :  Dec. 
1761  ;  Dec.  1773,  Riko  (his  haimyo).  F.  Act.  :  Dec.  1761-Sep.  1785.  Used 
No.  90  Jo-mon  from  c.  1769. 

91.  Ichikawa  Monnosuke  II,  Takinoya  Shinsha.  1743-1794.  F.  N. :  Takinaka 
Tsuruzo  ;  1759,  Hidematsu  ;  1762,  Benzo  ;  P.  N. :  Dec.  1770.  M.  Act. : 
1756-Sep. 1794.  Mon  shown  is  his  Kae-mon.  When  Benzo  used  No.  70  with 
ideograph  "  Ben  "  in  centre  ;  when  Monnosuke,  No.  17 ;  and  later  No.  93 
with  “  Mon  "  in  centre  for  his  Jo-mon  in  each  case. 

92.  Onoye  Matsusuke,  Otowaya  Sanchd.  1744-1815.  M.  F.  Act. :  Dec.  1756- 
Sep.  1774;  Feb.  1778-Oct.  1791  ;  Feb.  1794-Aug.  1814.  Sometimes  used 
Mon  No.  64,  but  with  ideograph  “  matsu  ”  within  a  circle  in  centre. 

93.  Ichikawa  Danzo  IV,  Mikawaya  Shiko.  1745-1808.  F.  N. :  Kameya 
Torazo  ;  in  1763,  Nakamura  Torazo  ;  1768,  Ichikawa  Tomozo  ;  Dec.  1772, 
Dansaburo;  P.  N. :  Dec.  1773.  M.  Act. :  Dec.  1768-Oct.  1769  ;  Dec.  1772- 
Oct.  1783;  Feb.  1799-Dec.  1801. 

94.  Bando  Mitsugoro  I,  Yamatoya  Zegyo.  1745-1782.  M.  Act. :  Dec.  1766- 
April  1782. 

95.  Nakamura  Sukegoro  II,  Sengokuya  Gyoraku.  1745-1806.  F.  N. :  Sengoku 
Sukeji;  P.  N. :  Aug.  1763.  M.  Act.  :  Dec.  1761-Aug.  1798.  Note. — Mon 
shown  is  his  Kae-mon.  Jo-mon  same  as  No.  54. 

96.  Otani  Hiroji  III,  Maruya  Jitcho.  1746-1802.  F.  N. :  Haruji ;  Dec.  1758, 
Oniji  II ;  P.  N. :  Dec.  1762.  M.  Act. :  Aug.  1755-May  1780  ;  Dec.  1781  ; 
April  1783-Sep.  1798.  Mon  shown  in  his  Kae-mon.  Jo-mon  as  No.  45. 

97.  Bando  Mitsugoro  II,  Yamatoya  Zegyo.  1746-1829.  F.  N. :  Onoye  Mon- 
saburo ;  P.  N. :  Dec.  1785;  Dec.  1799,  Ogino  Isaburo  II.  M.  Act.:  Dec. 
1774-1829.  Mon  shown  is  his  Kae-mon.  Jo-mon  as  for  No.  94. 

98.  Segawa  Yujiro,  Kinokuni-ya  Ki-in.  1747-1818.  F.  N. :  Sawamura  Kimbei ; 

1767,  Shirogoro ;  1769,  Segawa  Yujiro.  In  1777,  reverted  to  Shirogoro.  In 
1779/  became  Ichikawa  Yaozo  III ;  in  1809,  Suketaka-ya  Takasuke.  M.  F. 
Act. :  Dec.  1764-1808.  Mon  shown  is  Kae-mon  as  Yujiro.  When  of  Sawa¬ 
mura  Line  used  No.  32  as  Jo-mon  ;  when  of  Segawa  No.  39  ;  when  Yaozo 
No.  79  with  No.  99  as  Kae-mon,  and  Chusha  as  Haimyo. 

100  and  101.  Jo-  and  Kae-mon  of  Iwai  Hanshiro  IV,  Yamatoya  Tojaku.  1747- 
1800.  F.  N. :  Matsumoto  Chomatsu  ;  Dec.  1762,  Shichizo  ;  P.  N. :  Dec. 
1765.  F.  M.  Act. :  Dec.  1753-Oct.  1784  ;  Dec.  1786-Dec.  1796  ;  Feb.  1800. 

102.  Segawa  Kikunojo  III,  Hamamuraya  Roko.  1750-1810.  F.  N. :  Tomi- 
saburo  ;  P.  N. :  Dec.  1774 ;  Roko  in  1801  ;  Dec.  1807,  Senjo.  F.  Act.  : 
1774-Oct.  1802  ;  Dec.  1804-Oct.  1810.  Mon  shown  is  the  Kae-mon.  Jo-mon 
as  for  No.  39. 

103.  Nakamura  Noshio  I.  1752-1777.  F.  Act. :  Dec.  1770-Oct.  1777- 

104.  Sawamura  Sojuro  III,  Kinokuniya  Tosshi.  1753-1801.  F.  N. :  Tanosuke  ; 
P.  N. :  Dec.  1771.  M.  Act. :  Dec.  1759-Oct.  1769  ;  Dec.  1771-Oct.  1791  ; 
Dec.  1772 ;  Feb.  to  Oct.  1773  ;  Feb.  1794-Dec.  1798 ;  Dec.  1800.  His 
Kae-mon  ;  Jo-mon  as  for  No.  32. 

105.  Osagawa  Tsuneyo  II,  Wataya  Kyosen.  1753-1808.  F.  N. :  Shichizo;  P.N. 

1768.  F.  Act. :  1763-1808. 

106.  Bando  Hikosaburo  III,  Otawaya  Shinsui.  1754-1828.  F.  N. :  Ichimura 
Kichigoro  ;  P.  N. :  Dec.  1770.  M.  Act. :  Dec.  1759-Oct.  1803  ;  Dec.  1806- 
Oct.  1811.  His  Kae-mon.  Jo-mon  as  for  No.  86. 

107.  Nakamura  Nakazo  II,  Sakaiya  Shukwaku.  1761-1796.  F.  N. :  Otani 
Nagasuke  ;  Dec.  1778,  Haruji  II  ;  1787,  Oniji  III ;  P.  N. :  Dec.  1794.  M. 
Act. :  1778-1796.  As  Oniji  used  Mon  No.  29  with  ideograph  “  Oni  ”  in  centre. 

108.  Ichikawa  Komazo  II,  Koraiya  Kinsho.  1764-1838.  F.  N. :  Donzo  ;  P.  N.  : 
Dec.  1772.  M.  Act. :  Feb.  1770-1801,  from  Dec.  of  which  he  became  Matsu¬ 
moto  Koshiro  V. 

109.  Iwai  Kumesaburo,  Baiga,  then  Tojaku.  1736-1847.  F.  Act.  :  Dec.  1787- 
Oct.  1804,  changing  to  Hanshiro  V  in  Dec.  His  Kae-mon.  Jo-mon  as  for 
No.  100. 

no.  Ichikawa  Danjuro  VI,  Naritaya  Sansho.  1778-1799-  F.  N.  :  Tokuzo; 
Dec.  1782,  Yebizo  IV  ;  P.  N.  :  Dec.  1791-  M.  Act. :  Feb.  1782-April  1799. 
Kae-mon.  Jo-mon,  No.  88. 

in.  Ichikawa  Omezo,  Takinoya  Shinsha.  Died,  1833.  F.  N. :  Bennosuke  ; 
P.  N. :  Dec.  1789.  M.  Act. :  Dec.  1776-1800  ;  1804-1824-  His  Kae-mon  ; 
Jo-mon  as  for  No.  108,  but  with  ideograph  “  O  ”  in  the  centre. 

xlii 


YEDO  PUBLISHERS 
THEIR  TRADE-MARKS  AND  SEALS 

The  system  of  Nakama  or  Guilds  was  common  to  all  commercial  enter¬ 
prise  during  the  Feudal  regime.  Wholesale  publishers  were  organized 
into  a  guild  known  as  Jihondoiya  no  Nakama  ;  and,  as  we  have  explained 
elsewhere,  were  appointed  in  rotation  as  censors  of  printed  matter  under 
the  supervision  of  the  Machi-bugyo.  Each  publisher  ordinarily  carried  on 
business  under  three  names,  viz.  his  do-go ,  his  ya-go,  and  his  personal 
name,  e.g.  Kosho-do  Tsuta-ya  Jusaburo.  Sometimes  he  used  his  family 
or  surname  as  an  alternative  designation ;  e.g.  Uyemura,  the  surname  of 
Yemiya  Kichiyemon.  In  one  case  only  do  we  find  a  fourth  name  used  on 
prints,  viz.  that  of  Karamaro,  the  go  as  a  humorous  poet  of  Tsutaya 
Jusaburo. 

Each  publisher  also  possessed  a  trade-mark  or  shop  sign  (iye  no  shirushi ), 
which  he  used  to  stamp  either  on  the  artist’s  original  design  with  or 
without  one  or  other  or  all  of  his  names,  when  it  was  engraved  along  with 
the  design,  or  on  the  finished  print.  In  the  following  tables  each  of  the 
names  of  some  prominent  Yedo  print  publishers  when  fully  known  are 
recorded,  together  with  the  approximate  dates  of  the  firm’s  activity. 

The  importance  of  clearly  differentiating  between  the  various  publishers, 
more  especially  in  regard  to  their  do-go,  and  in  cases  where  the  ya-go  is 
identical,  will  be  seen  from  the  following  remarks  embodying  errors  that 
have  been  noticed  in  catalogues. 

1.  Yamaguchiya  Tobei,  do-go  Kinkodo,  i$  frequently  confused  with 
Yamaguchiya  Chusuke  (do- go  not  yet  ascertained)  and  Takatsuya  Isuke 
on  account  of  the  similarity  of  their  trade-marks.  The  latter  should 
not  be  confused  with  Takasu  Soshichi. 

2.  Yamamoto,  who  is  often  given  as  a  separate  publisher,  is  really  identical 
with  Maruya  Kohei,  whose  family  name  was  Yamamoto.  Some  prints 
bear  the  name  of  Yamamoto  Kohei,  Hbsendo  Maruya.  His  shop  was 
at  first  in  Odemma-cho,  and  afterwards  in  Tori  Abura-cho. 

3.  Yeisendd  is  invariably  described  as  Yamaguchiya  Shozo ;  and  the 
Omi,  Naniwa,  and  Kyoto  series  of  oblong  prints  by  Hiroshige  I  are 
declared  to  be  this  latter’s  publication.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Shozd's 
go  was  not  Yeisendd  but  Shoyeido.  Yeisendd  was  the  do- go  of  Mitaya 
Kihachi,  whose  trade-mark  has  not  yet  been  discovered.  The  Kyoto 
Meisho  set  was  the  joint  publication  of  Yeisendd  (i.e.  Mitaya  Kihachi) 
and  of  Kawaguchi  Uhei  (not  Shozo),  whose  do-go  was  Fukusendo  and 

xliii 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


whose  trade-mark  is  to  be  seen  on  the  lanterns  of  the  tea-house  to  the 
right  of  the  print  with  the  sub-title  Shijo  kawara  yti-suzumi,  **  Summer 
evening  cooling  in  the  river-bed  at  Shijo/' 

Shoyeido's  seal  is  found  on  some  of  Hiroshige's  Kwacho  or  **  Flowers 
and  Birds  "  series  ;  that  of  Fukusendo  on  some  of  Yeisen's  landscapes 
(vide  page  482,  Catalogue  of  Japanese  and  Chinese  Woodcuts  in  the 
British  Museum)  and  elsewhere. 

4.  Tsutaya  Jusaburo  is  a  different  publisher  from  Tsutaya  Kichizo. 

5.  Iwatoya  Kisaburo  is  a  different  publisher  from  Iwatoya  Gempachi. 

6.  Jakurindo  was  the  do-go  of  Wakasaya  Yoichi,  not  of  Fujiokaya  Keijiro  ; 
and  this  latter  is  different  from  Fujiokaya  Hikotaro,  whose  do-go  was 
Shogendo,  which  may  but  should  not  be  pronounced  Matsubarado. 
Keijiro's  do -go  was  Shorindo. 

7.  Yeiyudo,  often  confused  with  Yeijudo  the  do-go  of  Nishimuraya  Yohachi, 
is  the  do-go  of  Murataya  Jirobei.  The  personal  name  of  Moriji  is  Jihei 
not  Jirobei,  and  that  of  Fuji  Kei  is  Keijiro  not  Keisuke. 

Publishers'  seals  vary  considerably  in  shape  and  size.  Those  here  repro¬ 
duced  will  suffice  to  give  a  general  idea  of  the  ideographs  which  they  used, 
no  matter  what  size  or  shape  the  seals  may  be.  It  was  a  common  practice 
for  publishers  to  contract  their  ya-go  and  personal  names,  and  these  are 
often  a  convenient  way  of  differentiating  between  those  whose  ya-go  is 
identical.  For  example :  Waka(-saya)  Yo(-ichi) ;  Mori(-ya)  Ji(-hei) ; 
Ise(-ya)  Kim(bei) ;  Maru(-ya)  Ko(hei) ;  and,  in  the  case  of  the  same 
ya-go ,  Tsuta(-ya)  Ju(-saburo)  and  Tsuta(-ya)  Kichi(-zo) ;  Ye(-zakiya) 
Kichi(-bei)  and  Ye(-zakiya)  Tatsu(-kura) ;  Fuji(-okaya)  Kei(-jiro)  and 
Fuji(-okaya)  Hiko(-taro). 


xliv 


A  SELECTION  OF 

YEDO  PUBLISHERS’  TRADE-MARKS 


TABLE  A 


Kinoshita  Jinyemon,  1690-1730 


Komatsuya  Dembei,  1700-1750 
Rikwakudo 

Urokogataya  Magobei,  1700-1784 


Surugaya,  1740-1760 


Tomita,  1745-1763 
Sanrindo 

Yamadaya  Sanshiro,  1688-1812 


Seisuido 

Izutsuya  Chuzayemon,  1688-1754 
Izutsuya  Sanyemon,  1705-1750 

Nakajimaya  Risuke,  1710-1756 
Kwakujudo 

Okumuraya  Genroku,  1715-1780 
Aikindo 

Hiranoya  Kichibei,  1720-1736 
Senkwakudo 

Tsuruya  Kiyemon,  1675-1867 

Izumiya  Gonshiro,  1716-1735 
(of  Dobo-cho,  Barrier  Gate, 
Asakusa  ;  originator  of  beni-ye) 

Yamatoya,  1716-1735 

Bunkido 

Igaya  Kanyemon,  1711-1748 

Ogawa  Shichirobei,  1720-1735 
Yenomoto  Kichibei,  1785-1810 

Shokwakudo 

Yamashiroya,  1730-1760 
Yedoya,  1730-1754 
Iwaiya,  1730-1750 

Omiya  Kuhei,  1730-1750 
Sagamiya,  1720-1735 


Maruya  Kuzayemon,  1730-1744 
Kiriya,  1730-1755 
Yeiyudo 

Murataya  Jirobei,  1720-1848 
Yenami,  1750-1768 


Masuya,  1739-1780 
Hosendo 

Maruya  Kohei,  1720-1783 
Mikawaya  Rihei,  1741-1770 


Iseya  Kimbei,  1725-1804 


Yeijudd 

Nishimuraya  Yohachi,  1738-1848 


Koshodo 

Tsutaya  Jusaburo,  1772-1848 

Daikwando 
Fushimiya  Zenroku 
I7^7-present  day 


Nishimuraya  Genroku,  1744-1778 


Sakaiya  Kurobei,  1751-1768 
Fuyodd 

rgi  Takasu  Soshichi,  1787-1801 


xlv 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


TABLE  A  —  continued 


Kinkddo 

Yamaguchiya  Tobei,  1784-1868 
Yeirindo 

Iwatoya  Kisaburo,  1790-1830 

Iwatoya  Gempachi,  1760-1781 

Matsumura  Yahei 
(Probably  the  earlier  trade-mark  of 
next) 

Matsumura  Yahei,  1738-1818 

Yamaguchiya  Chusuke,  1790-1820 
Rankodo 

Yemiya  Kichiyemon,  1711-1818 
Bunjudo 

Maruya  Bunyemon,  1794-1820 

Iseya  Jisuke,  1795-1810 
Shojudo 

Daikokuya  Heikichi 
1818-present  day 

Kagaya  Kichibei,  1810-1854 
Bunkindo 

Toyojimaya  Bunjiyemon 

i773“i8o6 

Wakamatsuya  Gensuke,  1750-1770 
Sokwakudo 

Tsuruya  Kinsuke,  1798-1836 
Kinshindo 

Moriya  Jihei,  1800-1853 
Tenjudo 

Yezakiya  Kichibei,  1794-1848 
Jakurindo 

Wakasaya  Yoichi,  1794-1861 
Igaya  Kanyemon  II,  1810-1854 

Matsumoto  Sahei,  1800-1855 
Yamadaya  Sasuke,  1795-1812 
Yamashiroya  Tokei,  1794-1830 


Kansendo 

Izumiya  Ichibei,  1785-1868 
Yeikyiido 

Yamamotoya  Heikichi,  1804-1860 
Isemago,  1796-1812 

Takatsuya  Isuke,  1789-1817 
Yenjudd 

Maruya  Jimpachi,  1766-1861 
Mikawaya  Rihei  II,  1789-1826 

Yamaden,  1794-18x2 

Gwangetsudo 

Nishimiya  Shinroku,  1785-1818 
Taiyeido 

Iseya  Soyemon,  1789-present  day 

Kinshodo,  1801-1835 
N.B. — Full  style  of  this  publisher 
has  not  yet  been  ascertained. 

Kinshudo 

Azumaya  Daisuke,  1815-1830 
Akamatsu  Shotaro,  1830-1850 

Iseya  Sanjiro,  1795-1850 
Fukusendo 

Kawaguchiya  Uhei,  1790-1849 
Soshuya  Yohei,  1792-1854 


Tsutaya  Kichizo,  1801-1868 


Shoyeido 

Kawaguchiya  Shozo,  1818-1848 


XX 


Omiya  Yohei,  1790-1815 
Kikwakudo 

Sanoya  Kihei,  1790-1865 


xlvi 


SELECTION  OF  YEDO  PUBLISHERS'  TRADE-MARKS 


TABLE  A  —  continued 


Jukwakudo 

Maruya  Seijiro,  1818-1853 

Nakamuraya  Katsugoro 
1815-1848 


Osakaya  Shosuke,  1807-1850 


't' 


Sankindo 

Yamazakiya  Kimbei,  1762-1823 


Sumimaruya  Jinsuke,  1804-1830 


Yezakiya  Tatsukura,  1810-1853 


X 


Yedoya  Matsugoro,  1812-1852 
Kinchodo 

Joshuya  Juzo,  1840-1850 
Kinshodo 

Yebisuya  Shoshichi,  1848-1861 
Kinjudd 

Iseya  Rihei,  1804-1848 
Iseya  Heibei,  1830-1852 


'T 


Yorozuya  Kichibei,  1838-1854 

Joshuya  Kinzo,  1830-1852 
Kikuya  Ichibei,  1832-1854 

Echizenya  Heisaburo,  1833-1855 


Kawaguchiya  Chozo,  1830-1850 


Fujiwaraya  Bunjiro,  1830-1854 

Wakamatsuya  Yoshiro 
1832-1855 

Yusuido 

Aridaya  Seiyemon,  1840-1858 
Dansendo 

Ibaya  Sensaburo,  1840-1853 


jpgj  Hamadaya  Tokubei,  1818-1852 


Yamadaya  Shobei,  1852-1863 


* 


Shorindo 

Fujiokaya  Keijiro,  1840-1865 
Yebiya  Rinnosuke,  1838-1855 

Echigoya  Chohachi,  1789-1854 


Ibaya  Kyubei,  1843-1858 
Shogendo 

Fujiokaya  Hikotaro,  1825-1854 
Isekane,  1848-1860 
Bunkwado 

Shioya  Shosaburo,  1830-1848 
Kinshodo 

Tsujiokaya  Bunsuke,  1828-1858 

Ningyoya  Takichi,  1836-1854 

Moritaya  Hanjiro,  1834-1856 

Omiya  Heihachi,  1832-1852 

Shin  Iseya  Kohei,  1840-1858 

Yenhiko,  1840-1860 

Yamadaya  Juhei,  1830-1852 

Sawamuraya  Rihei,  1834-1856 

Uyedaya  Kyujiro,  1833-1850 

Daikokuya  Kyubei,  1832-1856 
Horaido 

Sumiyoshiya  Masagoro,  1804-1848 
Hoyeido 

Take  (no)  Uchi  Magohachi 
1830-1840 

Maruya  Kyushiro,  1829-1859 


xlvii 


A  SELECTION  OF 
YEDO  PUBLISHERS'  SEALS 


TABLE 


Hangiya 
Shichirobei 
Nemoto  ye-dokoro 
(Original  bureau  of 
Pictures). 
1680-1710. 


Nakajimaya 
Sakai  chd 

Hammoto  (Publisher) 

I7II-I744* 
Sakaiya 


Hammoto  / 1 72  5  1 779  • 


Hammoto  Igaya 
Motohama  cho. 
Igaya 
1711-1848. 

Surugaya 
1740-1760. 
IZUTSUYA 
Shimmei-mae 
Yoko  cho 
1688-1751. 

Ise(ya)  Kim(bei) 
1725-1804. 

Yemiya 

Shiba  Shimmei-mae 
1711-1818. 

Kami-  (or  Uye-)  mura 
1744-1818. 

Later  style  of 
Yemiya  (Kichiyemon). 

Kikuya 

Busso(0cho  Asakusa 
1720-1738. 
Yamatoya 

Shimmei-mae,  1711-1740. 


Iwaiya,  1730-1750. 
Sagamiya,  1720-1735. 
Komatsuya,  1700-1750. 

Komatsuya  (Dembei) 
Yushima  Tenjin 
onna-zaka  no  shita 
(his  address)  1700-1750. 
Masuya,  1741-1780. 

xlviii 


B 


Trade-mark 

of 

Murata  Han 
Abura  cho 
(abbr.  of 
Murataya  Jirobei 
1720-1848). 

Murata  han 
1720-1848 ; 
Yeiyudo 
(do- go  of  above). 

Maruko 

1720-1783. 

Yamamoto 

Han 

(Same  firm  as 
Maruya  Kohei). 

Maruya  han. 
Mikawa(ya) 

Ai  (hei)  han 
1741-1770. 

ISERI 

Ikenokata 
Naka  cho 
1804-1848. 
Kinjudo 
(do- go  of  above). 

Tsuru 

(abbr.  for  Tsuruya 
Kiyemon) 
Shimpan,  i.e. 
new  publication. 
Iwatoya 
(Gempachi) 
1760-1781. 

(N.B.' — Same  mark  was 
used  later  by  Senichi 
Izumiya  Ichibei). 

Tsurushin 

1751-1768. 

(N.B. — Same  mark  was 
used  later  by  Moriji). 

Jakurindo 
(do-go  of 

Wakasaya  Yoichi). 

Wakasaya 
(Yoichi),  1794-1861. 


A  SELECTION  OF  YEDO  PUBLISHERS'  SEALS 


TABLE  B  —  continued 


Two  forms 
of 

Yeiju  han 
(abbr.  of  Yeijudo). 

Nishimura 

Yeijudo 

(Do-go  of  Nishi- 
muraya  Yohachi). 

(N.B. — Often  confused  with 
Yeiyudo.) 

Koshodo. 

Karamaro 

Han 

(i.e.  Tsutaya  Jusaburo). 
Shi(ba) 

Takasu. 

Takatsu  (ya 
Isuke)  han. 
Senichi  han. 

Sanoki 

1790-1865. 

Take-Mago 

Tsuru-Ki. 


Hoyeido. 

TAKE(no)UCHI. 

Kikwaku 

(abbr.  of  Kikwakudo), 
do-go  of  Sanoya  Kihei 
1790-1865. 

Kawasho(-zo) 
1818-1848. 
Shoyeido 
(do- go  of  above). 

Shogendo 
(do-go  of) 
Fujioka  (ya) 
(Hikotaro). 

Jokin 

(abbr.  of  Joshuya 
Kinzo),  1830-1852. 
ISEKANE,  1848-1860. 
Kawaguchi  han 
(i.e.  Kawaguchiya 
Uhei  1790-1849). 

Sanoki  han,  1790-1865* 
Yeisendo 
(do-go  of 
Mitaya  Kihachi). 


xlix 


d 


SELECT  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

(A)  JAPANESE  WORKS  CONSULTED 


I.  WORKS  ON  UKIYO-YE  AND  THE  COLOUR-PRINT 

Ukiyoye  ruiko  in  its  various  editions.  Yedo,  c.  1799-1901. 

Ukiyoye-shi  benran.  Tokyo,  1893. 

Ukiyoye  biko.  Tokyo,  1897. 

Honcho  ukiyo  gwajin  den.  Tokyo,  1899. 

Ukiyoye  hennenshi.  Tokyo,  1912. 

Ukiyoye  taika  gwa-shu.  Tokyo,  1912. 

Ukiyo-ye  to  Fukei  gwa.  Tokyo,  1914. 

Ukiyo-ye.  Tokyo,  1915-1920. 

Ukiyo-ye  no  kenkyu.  Tokyo,  1921-1923. 

II.  WORKS  ON  PARTICULAR  MASTERS 

Hishikawa  Moronobu  gwafu.  Osaka,  1909. 

Okumura  Masanobu  gwafu.  Osaka,  1910. 

Nishikawa  Sukenobu  gwafu.  Osaka,  1911. 

III.  WORKS  ON  THE  THEATRE 

Yehon  sakae-gusa.  Yedo,  N.D.  (1771). 

Gekijo  gaku-ya  zu-ye.  Osaka,  1800. 

Shibai  kummo  zu-i.  Yedo,  1806. 

Hana  Yedo  kabuki  nendai-ki.  Yedo,  1811. 

Kabuki  shimpo.  Tokyo,  1896. 

Nippon  engeki-shi.  Tokyo,  1904. 

Kinsei  Nippon  engeki-shi.  Tokyo,  1914. 

IV.  GENERAL 

Kottoshu.  Yedo,  1815. 

Kwankon  shiryd.  Yedo,  1826. 

Kono  Hana.  Osaka.  1910-1912. 

Kono  Hana.  Tokyo,  1912-1913. 

Hikkwa-shi.  Osaka,  1911. 

Nippon  dai  jiten  kotoba  no  izumi.  Tokyo,  1921. 

(B)  WORKS  IN  EUROPEAN  LANGUAGES. 

I.  GENERAL 

Anderson,  W.  Japanese  Wood  Engravings.  London,  1895. 

Aubert,  Louis.  Les  Maitres  de  l'Estampe  japonaise.  Paris,  1914. 

Bramsen,  William.  Japanese  Chronology  and  Calendars,  etc. 

British  Museum.  Catalogue  of  Japanese  and  Chinese  Woodcuts.  By  L.  Binyon.  1916. 
Duret,  Th.  Livres  et  Albums  illustres  du  Japon.  Paris,  1900. 

Einstein,  Carl.  Der  friihere  Japanische  Holzschnitt.  Berlin,  N.D. 

1 


SELECT  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Fenollosa,  E.  F.  An  outline  of  the  history  of  Ukiyo-y£.  Tokyo,  1901. 

Gookin,  F.  W.  Japanese  Colour-Prints  and  their  Designers.  The  Japan  Society,  New 
York,  1913. 

Kurth,  Julius.  Der  Japanische  Holzschnitt.  Munich,  1911.  New  edition,  1922. 

Kurth,  Julius.  Die  Primitiven  des  Japanholzschnitts.  Dresden,  1922. 

Kurth,  Julius.  Der  Chinisische  Farbendruck.  Plauen,  1922. 

Lemoisne,  P.  A.  L’Estampe  japonaise.  Paris,  1914. 

Morrison,  Arthur.  Painters  of  Japan.  (Vol.  II.  Chapter  on  Ukiyo-ye.) 

Seidlitz,  W.  von.  Geschichte  des  Japanischen  Farbenholzschnitts.  Dresden,  1897 
Revised  edition,  1910.  English  edition,  1910. 

Strange,  E.  F.  Japanese  Illustration.  London,  1897.  New  edition,  1904. 

Strange,  E.  F.  Japanese  Colour-Prints.  London,  1904.  4th  edition,  1913. 

Strange,  E.  F.  Colour-Prints  of  Japan.  London,  1904. 

Tajima,  S.  Masterpieces  selected  from  the  Ukiyo-ye  School.  Tokyo.  5vols.  1906-1909. 
Tressan,  Le  Marquis  de.  Documents  japonais  relatifs  k  l'histoire  de  l'estampe  in  Bulletin 
de  la  Socidt£  franco- japonaise  de  Paris,  January,  1914. 

2.  WORKS  ON  PARTICULAR  MASTERS 

De  Goncourt,  E.  Outamaro.  Paris,  1891. 

De  Goncourt,  E.  Hokusai.  Paris,  1896. 

Field,  H.  E.  Kiyonaga.  Burlington  Magazine,  Vol.  XIII,  p.  241. 

Holmes,  C.  J.  Hokusai.  London,  1899. 

Kurth,  J.  Utamaro.  Leipzig,  1907. 

Kurth,  J.  Suzuki  Harunobu.  Munich  and  Liepzig,  1910. 

Kurth,  J.  Sharaku.  Munich,  1910.  New  edition,  1922. 

Noguchi,  Yone.  Hiroshige.  New  York,  1921. 

Perzynski,  F.  Hokusai.  Bielefeld  and  Leipzig,  1904. 

Revon,  M.  Etude  sur  Hok’sai.  Paris,  1896. 

Smidt,  H.  Harunobu :  Technik  und  Falschungen  seiner  Holzschnitte.  (Die  Graphischen 
Kiinste,  Vienna,  1911.) 

Succo,  F.  Utagawa  Toyokuni  und  seine  Zeit.  Munich,  1913-1914. 

Succo,  F.  Katsukawa  Shunsho.  Plauen  im  Vogtland,  1922. 

Strange,  E.  F.  Hokusai.  London,  1906. 

Strange,  E.  F.  Toyokuni.  London,  1908. 

Watanabe,  S.  Hiroshige.  (Catalogue  of  Memorial  Exhibition.)  Tokyo,  1918. 

3.  EXHIBITION  CATALOGUES 
Fenollosa,  E.  F.  The  Masters  of  Ukiyo-ye.  New  York,  1896. 

Gookin,  F.W.  Catalogue  of  a  loan  exhibition  of  Japanese  Colour-Prints.  Chicago,  1908. 
Gookin,  F.  W.  Catalogue  of  a  memorial  exhibition  of  Japanese  Colour-Prints  from  the 
Clarence  Buckingham  Collection.  Chicago,  1915. 

Kurth,  J.  Japanische  Holzschnitte  aus  der  Sammlung  Straus- Negbaur  in  Frankfurt. 
Frankfurt-am-Main,  1909. 

Ledoux,  Louis.  Exhibition  of  Japanese  Figure-Prints  from  Moronobu  to  Toyokuni.  The 
Grolier  Club,  New  York,  1923. 

Louvre,  Musee  du.  Catalogue  de  la  collection  Isaac  de  Camondo.  (Estampes  japonaises ; 
by  G.  Migeon.) 

1  i 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 

Morrison,  Arthur.  Exhibitions  of  Japanese  Prints.  Fine  Art  Society,  London,  1909  and 
1910. 

Musee  des  Arts  D^coratifs,  Paris.  Catalogues  by  C.  Vignier  and  H.  Inada  of  exhibitions 
held  1909-1914,  edited  by  R.  Koechlin.  Vol.  I,  Estampes  japonaises  primitives ; 
Vol.  II,  Harunobu,  Koriusai,  Shunsho  ;  Vol.  Ill,  Kiyonaga,  Buncho,  Sharaku ;  Vol.  IV, 
Utamaro;  Vol.  V,  Yeishi,  Choki,  Hokusai;  Vol.  VI,  Toyokuni,  Hiroshige.  Referred  to 
in  this  work  as  the  “  Paris  V.I.  Catalogues." 

Strange,  E.  F.  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum,  London.  Japanese  Colour-Prints,  lent  by 
R.  Leicester  Harmsworth,  1913. 


lii 


INTRODUCTION 

The  earliest  known  woodcuts  in  the  world  are  those  discovered  by 
Sir  Aurel  Stein  in  1908  in  the  Cave  of  the  Thousand  Buddhas  at  Tun- 
huang,  on  the  extreme  western  frontier  of  China.  They  are  now  divided 
between  the  British  Museum  and  the  Government  of  India. 

These  woodcuts  are  all  Buddhist  images,  and  served  the  same  purpose 
in  popular  religion  as  the  “  Helgen,”  or  woodcut  images  of  saints,  in  the 
Germany  of  the  15th  century.  One  of  them  stands  apart  both  for  its 
complexity  of  subject  and  its  skilful  cutting.  It  prefaces  the  text  of  the 
Chinese  translation  of  a  Sutra,  printed  from  blocks  and  dated  868  a.d. 
The  other  woodcuts  from  Tun-huang  are  ruder  in  style,  though  in  different 
degrees ;  two  are  dated  947,  and  another  983.  We  can  hardly  doubt  that 
the  invention  of  the  woodcut  for  multiplying  designs  was  made  in  China 
at  a  considerably  earlier  date. 

Already  in  these  Tun-huang  woodcuts  we  find  a  tentative  experiment 
in  colour-printing.  In  the  British  Museum  are  two  impressions  of  an 
image  of  Avalokitesvara.  One  of  these  is  coloured  by  hand  and  mounted 
on  paper  which  is  printed  with  a  pattern  of  blue  on  blue.  The  idea  of  the 
colour-print — the  printing  from  one  block  over  another — is  here  in 
essentials,  it  only  needed  further  application.  If  the  invention  was  not 
carried  further,  it  was  probably  due  to  the  cost  and  labour  involved.  The 
same  considerations  would  seem  to  have  prevented  the  development  of 
the  colour-print  in  Europe.  Though  as  many  as  eight  blocks  were  used 
in  one  German  print  (the  arms  of  Cardinal  Lang,  1520,  by  Hans  Weiditz), 
this  was  exceptional  and  extraordinary  and  little  was  made  of  the 
invention. 

The  German  and  Italian  woodcuts  printed  in  two  or  three  colours  and 
in  oil  pigment  at  the  beginning  of  the  16th  century  and  known  as  “  chia¬ 
roscuro  **  prints  are  earlier  than  any  Chinese  colour-print,  so  far  as  we 
know  at  present ;  and  Mr.  Strange  has  advanced  the  interesting  suggestion 
that  specimens  of  these  European  prints  may  have  been  introduced  into 
China  by  the  Jesuits  and  given  the  idea  to  the  Chinese.  Since,  however, 
we  know  from  fragments  found  at  Tun-huang  by  Sir  Aurel  Stein  that 
patterns  were  printed  on  textiles  in  colour  during  the  T'ang  period,  and 
we  have  also  the  evidence  of  the  colour-printed  paper  mount  mentioned 
above,  it  does  not  seem  likely  that  the  Chinese  needed  to  get  this  inspira¬ 
tion  from  Europe.  The  earliest  Chinese  colour-prints  known  at  present 

1  See  the  Catalogue  of  Early  German  and  Flemish  Woodcuts  in  the  British  Museum,  by 
Campbell  Dodgson,  Vol.  II,  p.  181.  Five  colours  were  used  in  “The  Beautiful  Virgin  of 
Ratisbon,”  by  Altdorfer  (ibid.,  Vol.  II,  p.  227). 

liii 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


are  in  a  book  called  Shih  Chu  Chai  Shu  hua  p*u,  dated  1625.  During  the 
17th  century  various  other  books  of  the  same  kind,  intended  as  models 
for  drawing,  were  printed  in  colours.  The  best  known  of  these  is  the 
Mustard  Seed  Garden,  Chieh  Tzu  Yuan,  of  which  there  are  many  editions. 

During  the  last  few  years  Chinese  colour-prints,  for  long  totally  neglected, 
have  begun  to  interest  the  curiosity  of  collectors.  The  Marees  Society 
of  Munich  has  issued  a  most  sumptuous  publication,  reproducing  with 
infinite  care  pages  from  the  two  books  above-mentioned.  It  is  even 
contended,  here  and  there,  that  prints  like  these  surpass  the  best  of  the 
Japanese  prints ;  a  symptom  of  the  fashionable  dislike  of  mastery  in 
the  arts. 

We  are  here  concerned  with  Chinese  colour-prints  only  in  their  relation 
to  the  Japanese  woodcuts.  And  there  is  a  sharp  distinction  to  be  drawn 
between  them.  The  best  of  the  Chinese  colour-prints  were,  so  far  as  we 
know,  merely  reproductions  of  paintings  already  made.  The  Japanese 
prints  which  are  the  subject  of  this  book  were  produced  by  artists,  many 
of  them  artists  of  distinction,  the  best  of  them  men  of  genius,  who  made 
their  designs  with  the  colour-print  as  their  sole  end  in  view.  And,  strange 
as  it  seems,  the  Japanese  developed  the  colour-print  by  gradual  stages 
quite  independently  of  China,  from  the  hand-coloured  woodcut  to  the 
elaborate  print  from  twenty  or  thirty  blocks. 

Not  that  Chinese  prints  were  unknown  in  Japan. 

In  1746  Shunboku  published  at  Osaka  a  book  of  Ming  drawings  in 
colour-print,  copied  from  a  Chinese  book  of  1701.  The  only  known 
copy  of  the  first  edition  of  Shunboku's  book  was  recently  presented  by 
Mr.  Arthur  Morrison  to  the  British  Museum.  And,  as  we  shall  see  in  the 
course  of  our  narrative,  Chinese  single-sheets  were  imitated  from  time  to 
time  by  Harunobu  and  other  masters.  For  there  is  no  doubt  that  single 
sheets,  printed  in  colours,  were  produced  in  great  quantities  in  China 
and  in  many  different  styles. 

A  distinctively  Chinese  form  of  print  was  the  “  stone-print/'  Usually 
cut  on  wood,  this  was  an  imitation  of  the  rubbings  from  designs  incised 
on  stone,  which  were  an  ancient  method  of  preserving  and  multiplying  the 
design  of  pictures  which  were  threatened  with  decay.  Woodcuts  of  this 
type,  in  white  on  black,  or  white  on  blue,  were  common  in  China ;  and 
they  were  imitated  by  some  of  the  Primitives  in  Japan.  An  elaborated 
kind  of  stone-print,  with  colour,  was  also  devised ;  and  this  also  was 
imitated  in  Japan.  These  prints  are  discussed  in  more  detail  in  a  later 
chapter  (pp.  63-4).  The  Chinese  also  produced  single-sheets  in  colour ; 

liv 


INTRODUCTION 


not  only  landscapes  with  sages,  birds,  flowers,  etc. — the  typical  subjects  of 
Chinese  painting — but  popular  broadsides,  in  two,  three,  or  four  colours, 
illustrating  or  advertising  stage  plays.  (A  few  examples  of  all  these  kinds 
are  in  the  British  Museum  collection.)  These  prints  are  now  of  excessive 
rarity ;  a  fate  invariably  attending  the  cheapest  and  commonest  produc¬ 
tions,  since  no  one  thinks  them  worth  preserving.  It  is  quite  likely  that  the 
cheap  theatrical  prints  were  not  known  in  Japan :  since  they  were  artisans' 
work,  they  would  not  be  thought  worth  exporting,  and  only  answered 
local  needs.  Intercourse  between  the  two  countries  was  extremely 
restricted.  Some  of  the  finer  prints,  of  landscape  and  flower  subjects, 
were  known  and  were  imitated  ;  but  they  were  only  a  side-influence,  since 
the  Japanese  prints  were  devoted  almost  entirely  to  figure-design.  And, 
we  repeat,  the  Japanese,  in  Yedo  at  all  events,  seem  to  have  discovered 
each  stage  of  the  perfected  colour-print  for  themselves. 

One  great  difference  between  the  colour-prints  of  China  and  those  of 
Japan  lies  in  the  paper  employed.  The  Chinese  printed  on  a  thin  white 
paper,  on  which  the  colours  tell  brilliantly,  but  without  the  delicacy  of 
texture  and  depth  of  tone  which  the  pigments  took  from  the  softer,  tougher, 
and  more  bibulous  Japanese  paper.  The  finest  known  series  of  Chinese 
colour-prints,  produced  probably  towards  the  end  of  the  17th  century,  of 
birds  and  flowers,  fruit  and  still-life,  seem  to  be  imitating  the  effect  of 
coloured  porcelain ;  and  they  contrast  strongly  with  the  Japanese  prints 
of  equal  refinement  and  elaboration,  which  they  anticipate  by  more  than 
half  a  century.  Twenty-nine  prints  from  this  very  rare  series  are  in  the 
British  Museum,  and  scattered  examples  in  other  collections.  Their 
gaiety  has  its  charm  ;  but  they  are  not  to  be  compared  with  the  best 
Japanese  prints,  where  the  arts  of  the  designer,  wood-cutter,  and  printer 
are  combined  with  a  felicity  unknown  elsewhere  in  all  the  world. 

Because  of  their  priority  in  date  and  of  their  relation  to  Japanese  work — 
a  relation  which  still  remains  rather  problematic — it  is  only  right  that 
some  account  should  be  given  of  the  Chinese  colour-prints,  though  our 
knowledge  at  present,  especially  in  the  matter  of  dates,  is  but  scanty.  In 
all  essentials,  however,  the  history  of  the  Japanese  colour- print  is  inde¬ 
pendent  of  China,  and  is  involved  in  the  history  of  a  particular  school  of 
Japanese  painting  which  grew  up  in  Yedo  in  the  17th  century  ;  the  school 
known  as  Ukiyo-ye,  or  the  painting  of  the  Transient  Scene. 

The  early  history  of  Ukiyo-ye  has  been  so  often  told  that  we  need 
only  recount  it  in  brief  outline. 


lv 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


Just  as  in  Europe  what  we  call  genre  was  a  comparatively  late  develop¬ 
ment  of  painting,  so  in  Japan,  though  scenes  from  daily  life  were  intro¬ 
duced  in  an  episodical  or  accessory  fashion  into  scroll-paintings  of  the  old 
Tosa  school,  it  was  not  till  the  16th  century  that  painters  ventured  to 
make  such  themes  the  real  subjects  of  their  brush*  Certain  of  the  Kano 
masters  in  that  century  painted,  rather  furtively,  groups  of  people  amusing 
themselves*  Examples  are  reproduced  in  Masterpieces  of  Ukiyo-ye ,  Vol.  I* 
But  the  first  to  take  such  motives  for  his  chief  inspiration  was  Iwasa 
Matabei,  who  was  born  in  1578  and  died  in  1650.  He  had  a  number 
of  followers.  But  Matabei's  was  still  an  aristocratic  art.  Paintings  were 
expensive,  and  did  not  reach  the  lower  classes  of  the  feudal  system.  Yet 
it  was  just  in  these  lower  classes  that  a  demand  for  beautiful  things  was 
arising. 

After  centuries  of  civil  war,  Japan  was  at  last  at  peace  under  the  strong 
government  of  the  Tokugawa  Shoguns.  Intercourse  with  the  outside 
world  was  forbidden.  The  people  were  thrown  on  themselves.  The 
industrial  arts  throve  greatly.  And  in  Yedo  they  began  to  desire  a  pictorial 
art  that  should  reflect  their  own  interests  and  amusements.  The  genius 
of  Hishikawa  Moronobu  turned  the  inspirations  of  Matabei  to  popular 
account  by  utilizing  the  woodcut.  Here  was  a  cheap  means  of  multiplying 
designs  indefinitely,  for  all  to  enjoy. 

The  woodcut,  hitherto,  had  been  rather  neglected  in  Japan.  Originally 
used,  as  in  China,  for  religious  purposes,  it  began  to  be  used  about  the 
close  of  the  16th  century  for  illustrating  romances.  The  illustrated  Ise 
Monogatari  of  1608  is  the  best  known  example,  and  one  of  the  earliest,  of 
these  books.  But  in  Moronobu's  hands,  as  we  shall  see,  the  woodcut  was 
to  be  transformed  into  something  much  more  vigorous  and  alive. 

This  book  is  not  concerned  with  the  paintings,  which  form  an  important 
part  of  Ukiyo-ye,  and  were  the  most  esteemed  side  of  its  production.  The 
woodcuts  were  provided  for  a  lower  level  of  the  people ;  and  it  must  for 
ever  astonish  us  that  a  class  of  the  population  which  in  any  other  country 
of  the  world  would  have  been  satisfied  with  crude  and  gaudy  productions, 
should  have  created  and  fostered,  and  kept  in  eager  and  multifarious  life 
for  nearly  two  centuries,  an  art  of  design  as  distinguished  for  delicate  and 
fastidious  taste  as  it  is  rich  in  creative  power. 


lvi 


CHAPTER  I 
FROM  1658  TO  1695 


CHAPTER  I 


FROM  1658  TO  1695 

The  history  of  the  Ukiyoye  print  opens  at  Yedo  in  1658  with  a  book 
entitled  Kamo  no  Chomei  Hojoki  sho,  “  An  epitome  of  4  Notes  from  a 
ten-feet  square  hut/  by  Kamo  no  Chomei/'  a  Buddhist  recluse  of  the 
1 2th  century.  The  book  is  illustrated  with  woodcuts  after  drawings  by 
Moronobu,  the  first  print-designer  of  the  Ukiyoye  school.  This  artist, 
whose  real  name  was  Hishikawa  Kichibei,  was  the  son  of  Hishikawa 
Kichisayemon  Michishige  Kochiku  ( d .  1662),  the  most  skilful  embroiderer 
of  his  age,  and  also  clever  at  painting  and  designing  patterns.  Kochiku 
was  a  native  of  Hoda,  a  small  village  in  the  province  of  Awa,  where 
Moronobu  was  born  at  a  date  not  yet  ascertained,  but  which  is  commonly 
believed  to  have  been  about  1625.  At  first  he  assisted  his  father  in  his 
business  by  painting  designs  for  dress  materials  ;  and,  while  still  a  youth, 
accompanied  him  to  Yedo,  some  thirty  miles  from  Hoda,  across  the  present 
Bay  of  Tokyo.  Here,  while  continuing  to  assist  his  father,  he  began  to 
study  the  Tosa  style  of  painting,  and  later  that  of  the  Kano  school.  Soon 
after  he  was  attracted  to  the  modified  form  of  the  Tosa  and  Kano  styles 
initiated  by  Iwasa  Matabei  (1578-1650),  the  founder  of  the  Ukiyoye 
school,  confining  himself  at  first  to  painting  and  book  illustration.  About 
1673,  he  began  to  design  ichimai-ye  or  single-sheet  pictures,  which  were 
printed  in  ink  from  engraved  wood-blocks  and  were  termed  sumi-ye  or 
ink  pictures.  It  is  recorded  that  visitors  to  Yedo  took  back  these  prints 
to  their  homes  as  souvenirs  of  their  visit,  and  that  they  were  popularly 
known  as  Yedo-ye.  From  this  time  until  his  retirement  in  1694,  he 
executed  a  number  of  sumi-ye  as  well  as  book  illustrations.  Very  few  of 
the  former  have  survived  to  our  time ;  but  the  number  of  extant  books 
illustrated  by  him  reaches,  according  to  the  list  given  in  Hishikawa 
Moronobu  gwafu  published  in  1909,  a  total  of  one  hundred  and  eight, 
of  which  forty- eight  are  unsigned. 

His  sumi-ye  are  all  unsigned.  In  Meijin-ki  Shin-roku,  Moronobu's 
death  is  recorded  as  having  occurred  on  the  2nd  day  of  the  8th  month  of 
Shotoku  4  (August  30,  1714)  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven,  from  which  he 
would  appear  to  have  been  born  in  1638.  The  author,  the  late  Mr.  Sekine 
Shisei  (d.  1893),  further  states  that  he  was  buried  in  the  grounds  of  a 
temple  at  Yanaka,  Yedo. 

The  same  statements  are  repeated  in  Honcho  Ukiyo  gwajin-den  of  1899, 
written  by  Mr.  Sekine  Kinshiro.  From  whatever  source  Shisei  obtained 
these  details,  they  are  certainly  inaccurate ;  for  in  Sugata-ye  hyakunin 

3 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


isshu,  published  in  May,  1695,  Moronobu  is  referred  to  as  already  deceased. 
Santo  Kyoden  (1761-1816)  states  in  his  supplement  of  1802  to  the  Ukiyo- 
ye  Ruikd  that  he  had  been  informed  by  Shibakawa  Genryo,  a  physician 
and  relative  of  Moronobu  and  a  native  of  Hoda,  that  there  was  then  in  the 
grounds  of  the  Buddhist  temple  of  Rinkaizan  Betsu-gan-in  at  Hoda,  a 
large  bell  upon  which  was  engraved  :  “  contributed  by  Hishikawa  Kichibei- 
no-jo  Fujiwara  Moronobu  nyudo  Yuchiku  on  an  auspicious  day  in  the 
5th  month  of  Genroku  7,  the  year  of  Kinoe  Inu.”  Yuchiku  was  the  name 
taken  by  Moronobu  when,  after  shaving  his  head  and  becoming  a  follower 
of  Buddha  {nyudo),  he  had  retired  to  his  native  village  at  some  unknown 
date  previous  to  that  above  recorded.  His  death  must,  therefore,  have 
taken  place  between  this  date  and  May,  1695.  In  the  illustrated  catalogue 
of  Japanese  old  fine  arts  displayed  at  the  Japan- British  Exhibition,  London, 
1910,  the  dates  of  his  birth  and  death  are  given  as  1618  and  1694,  the 
former  being  evidently  deduced  from  Shisei's  statement  that  the  artist 
was  in  his  seventy-seventh  year  at  the  time  of  his  death.  As,  however, 
Shisei  was  evidently  wrong  as  to  the  date  of  his  death,  it  would  be  unsafe 
to  accept  the  age  given. 

Contemporary  with  Moronobu  as  print-designers  were  his  eldest  son 
Hishikawa  Kichizayemon  Morofusa ;  his  pupil,  Furuyama  Tarobei 
Moroshige  ;  Ishikawa  Ryusen  ;  and  Torii  Shobei  Kiyonobu.  Morofusa, 
the  dates  of  whose  birth  and  death  are  unrecorded,  worked  from  about 
1685  till  1703,  when  he  forsook  print-designing  to  become  a  dyer.  His 
work  is  to  be  found  in  about  nineteen  books  and  about  half  a  dozen 
ichimai-ye .  Among  these  books  is  the  Sugata-ye  hyakunin  isshu,  two 
large  volumes  already  referred  to ;  Kemono  yehon-zukushi,  one  large 
volume,  and  Yehon  Yamato-zumi,  three  large  volumes,  both  published 
in  1694 ;  Ka  no  kaori  and  Wakoku  hyaku  jo,  each  three  large  volumes 
published  in  1695  ;  and  Gorei-ko ,  one  large  volume  published  in  the 
same  year. 

These  six  books  bear  the  name  of  Moronobu ;  but  modern  Japanese 
criticism  declares  them  to  be  by  Morofusa,  who  they  believe  was  induced 
by  the  publishers  to  allow  his  father's  name  to  appear  as  the  designer  in 
order  thereby  to  secure  a  better  sale. 

In  support  of  this  view,  the  comparative  weakness  of  brush  displayed 
therein  is  insisted  upon,  and  certainly  cannot  be  denied.  It  is  to  be  noted, 
too,  that  Moronobu  was  already  in  retirement  in  1694. 

Moroshige,  whose  real  name  was  Furuyama  Tarobei,  illustrated  about 
ten  books  and  designed  about  the  same  number  of  prints  between  1678 

4 


FROM  1658  TO  1695 

and  1698.  Dates  of  birth  and  death  are  unknown.  His  Shikano  maki  fade, 
five  large  volumes  published  in  1686,  is  his  best-known  work  and  was  very 
popular  at  the  time.  It  was  reprinted  in  1692  ;  and  in  the  following  year 
the  authorities  decided  to  ban  the  book,  confiscating  the  wood-blocks  and 
such  copies  as  remained  unsold,  whilst  the  author,  Shikano  Buzayemon, 
and  the  publisher  are  both  said  to  have  suffered  penalties — the  former 
being  deported  to  a  far-off  island  and  the  latter  being  expelled  from  Yedo 
for  the  time  being.  The  book  deals  mainly  with  life  behind  the  scenes  in 
the  theatre. 

Ishikawa  Ryusen,  whose  name  was  Toshiyuki  Izayemon,  was  a  native  of 
the  Asakusa  district  of  Yedo.  There  is  no  record  of  his  birth  and  death. 
Some  say  he  was  a  pupil  of  Moronobu,  perhaps  on  the  ground  that  his 
brush  name  Ryusen  may  be  also  pronounced  Tomonobu ;  but  the  style 
exhibited  in  the  books  illustrated  by  him,  twelve  of  which  have  come 
down  to  us,  and  in  one  or  two  ichimai-ye ,  do  not  betray  the  style  of  that 
master,  but  rather  that  of  Kiyonobu  though  only  in  a  remote  degree.  His 
work  extends  from  1686  till  about  1714. 

Torii  Shobei  Kiyonobu  I  was  the  son  of  an  Osaka  actor  of  female  roles  who 
also  painted  sign-boards  for  the  theatres  of  Dotombori  in  that  city,  and 
whose  name  was  Torii  Shoshichi  Kiyomoto.  In  spring,  1687,  Kiyomoto 
removed  with  his  son  to  Yedo,  where  he  was  employed  to  paint  the 
kamban  (sign-boards)  of  the  Ichimura-za  (theatre),  in  which  work  he  was 
assisted  by  his  son,  then  about  twenty- two  years  of  age,  having  been  born 
in  1664.  In  the  same  year,  Kiyonobu  made  his  debut  as  a  print  designer 
by  illustrating  Shogetsudo  Fukaku's  four-volume  book,  Nanshoku  hana  no 
some-goromo  ;  some  eight  years  later  appeared  his  actor-prints  in  sumi-ye, 
which  were  the  first  of  their  kind,  and  immediately  attained  an  immense 
vogue.  They  were  hawked  about  the  streets ;  and  being  cheap  found 
ready  purchasers,  not  only  among  the  townfolk,  but  also  among  provincials 
by  whom,  like  Moronobu's  early  prints,  they  were  called  Yedo-ye.  Books 
illustrated  by  Kiyonobu  prior  to  1696  and  still  to  be  seen  are  Tomotsu 
monogatari,  one  volume,  published  in  1687,  and  Kokon  Shibai  Hyaku-nin 
isshu  (alternative  title,  Shibai  iro-kurabe),  two  volumes,  published  in  the 
5th  month  of  Genroku  6  (1693).  This  latter  book  is  unsigned  ;  and  has, 
from  the  illustrations  resembling  the  style  of  Moronobu — which  was 
common  to  all  work  at  this  period — been  wrongly  attributed  to  that 
master.  In  this  period,  Kiyonobu  designed  his  first  banzuke  or  playbills. 
He  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-six  on  the  28th  day  of  the  7th  month  of 
Kyoho  14  (nth  August,  1729). 


5 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


The  woodcuts  in  the  Ise  Monogatari  of  1608  are  mere  journeyman's 
work,  in  which  whatever  delicacy  the  original  designs  may  have  had — and 
Tosa  work  of  that  period,  enfeebled  though  the  tradition  had  become, 
could  be  exquisite  in  its  kind — is  completely  lost.  The  illustrations  are 
dull  and  tame,  repeating  what  had  been  done  before  a  thousand  times ; 
and  they  show  no  sign  of  having  been  designed  with  the  woodcut  line  in 
view. 

What  a  contrast  with  the  typical  picture  books  of  Moronobu !  Here  at 
once  we  see  the  immense  difference  between  woodcuts  which  are  the 
final  expression  of  the  artist's  thought,  designed  in  terms  of  the  material, 
and  woodcuts  which  are  merely  the  transcription  of  a  drawing  made  for 
the  drawing's  sake  and  with  no  thought  of  anything  further. 

But  it  is  wrong  to  suppose  that  this  mastery  of  the  woodcut  medium  was 
achieved  at  once.  Moronobu's  books  of  the  last  fifteen  years  of  his  life 
(1680-95)  are  familiar  to  all  collectors,  and  it  is  by  these  that  he  is  usually 
judged.  But  when  we  turn  to  his  early  work,  to  books  of  1660  and  there¬ 
abouts,  we  find  something  very  different.  These  books  are  rare  and  not 
well  known ;  indeed,  none  of  them  is  described  in  Duret's  catalogue,  and 
Duret  says  of  Moronobu  :  “  Les  livres  qu'il  a  illustres  sont  surtout 
compris  entre  les  annees  1680  et  1700."  In  this  early  work,  while  it  is 
evident  that  the  artist  has  reduced  his  design  to  the  simplest  terms,  it  is 
equally  evident  that  the  wood-cutters  are  still  struggling  with  the  diffi¬ 
culties  of  their  craft.  There  are  no  flowing  curves  ;  no  fine  detail  survives 
the  vigorous  chops  of  the  knife.  The  growth  of  the  hair  at  the  temples, 
to  be  beautifully  indicated  in  later  times  with  lines  of  incredible  fineness, 
shows  no  transition  between  white  and  solid  black.  The  formula  for  the 
mouth,  usually  opened  in  speech,  is  an  acute  angle  cut  down  into  the 
profile,  rather  like  a  fish's  mouth.  The  figures  are  smaller  and  leaner  than 
those  of  Tenna-Genroku  periods.  In  fact,  to  pass  from  a  book  of  1660 
to  one  of  1685  is  almost  like  passing  from  some  German  woodcut  of 
the  mid-fifteenth  century  to  Diirer's  u  Apocalypse  "  or  **  Great  Passion." 
None  the  less,  the  technical  immaturity  of  the  wood-cutters  does  not 
smother  or  suppress — perhaps  enhances  rather — an  almost  fierce  vitality 
in  Moronobu's  figure-drawing.  A  certain  diminution  of  force  may  be 
perceptible  in  the  designs  for  the  later  books,  but  the  complexity  and 
richness  of  the  arabesque  of  black  and  white  are  immensely  increased. 
And  Moronobu's  drawing  of  the  figure  is  always  remarkably  expressive. 
You  feel  the  living  presence  in  his  men  and  women,  and  in  the  relation  of 
the  figures  to  each  other  Moronobu  often  shows  a  keen  sense  of  drama. 

6 


FROM  1658  TO  1695 

The  earliest  of  Moronobu's  surviving  single-sheet  prints,  such  as  the 
“  Target  of  Yasu  no  Yoichi,”  reproduced  on  Plate  II  of  Estampes  Japonaises 
Primitives ,  the  first  volume  of  the  great  Paris  Exhibition  Catalogues,  by 
MM.  Vignier  and  Inada,  are  in  the  style  of  the  books  of  1660-70 ;  but 
such  prints  are  of  excessive  rarity.  Already  the  question  of  colour  had 
been  attacked.  In  some  cases  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  say  whether  the 
colouring  of  one  of  these  early  prints  is  contemporary  or  not.  Nor  can  we 
know  for  certain  whether  it  was  applied  by  the  artist,  or  the  publisher,  or 
even  the  customer.  But  that  it  was  the  practice  to  enliven  prints  with 
colour  from  the  very  first  is  a  safe  conjecture.  Red  lead  (tan)  and  yellow, 
with  or  without  a  tint  of  olive-grey,  were  the  pigments  most  favoured. 
And  as  soon  as  the  need  for  colour  was  recognized,  the  invention  of  the 
colour-print  was  bound,  sooner  or  later,  to  follow. 

The  history  of  the  Japanese  colour-print,  therefore,  may  be  said  to  begin 
with  Moronobu,  though  it  was  not  till  half  a  century  after  his  death  that 
colours  began  to  be  printed  from  the  block. 

The  print  reproduced  on  PI.  19  (2)  is  one  of  a  series  of  twelve  sheets 
forming  a  single  composition  and  representing  a  procession  of  Korean  envoys 
with  Japanese  escort.  It  is  hand-coloured  in  tones  of  warm  yellow,  pale 
red,  and  pale  olive.  Ten  prints  only  are  known,  but  as  these  are  numbered 
from  three  to  twelve,  there  is  no  doubt  about  the  complete  number. 
These  prints,  in  Mr.  Bateson's  collection,  have  no  signature,  but  were 
attributed  to  Moronobu.  Certainly  they  were  designed  under  the  prevalent 
influence  of  his  style,  but  the  types  and  the  drawing  are  demonstrably  not 
his.  The  reproduction  on  the  same  page  of  a  sheet  by  Moronobu,  dating 
from  about  1675,  illustrates  the  difference.  And,  in  fact,  on  one  of  six 
prints  of  this  same  series,  sold  in  the  Hamilton  Easter  Field  Collection, 
New  York,  December,  1922,  there  is  the  signature  Torii  Kiyonobu  fude . 
(The  sheets  from  the  Field  Collection  are  not  numbered.) 

A  comparison  of  the  two  sheets  here  reproduced  brings  out  the  difference 
of  character  in  the  draughtsmanship  of  these  two  masters,  though  the 
later  of  the  two  prints,  probably  made  after  Moronobu's  death,  is  not  of 
the  kind  which  displays  Kiyonobu's  style  at  its  most  typical.  Moronobu, 
more  than  Kiyonobu,  creates  by  his  supple  outlines  the  sense  of  a  living 
body.  Kiyonobu's  figures  are  flatter  to  the  eye,  and  the  contours  less 
expressive  of  the  form  within,  though  cunningly  woven  together  as  a 
composition.  But  the  Korean  procession  was  a  traditional  subject,  and 
it  did  not  give  full  scope  to  Kiyonobu's  personal  powers. 

Moronobu's  great  contribution  to  Ukiyo-ye  was,  first,  his  discovery  of 

7 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


the  possibilities  of  the  woodcut,  and  then,  through  his  perfect  under¬ 
standing  of  the  medium,  the  broad  and  firm  foundation  of  design  which  he 
laid  for  future  generations  to  build  on.  As  a  draughtsman  he  ranks  high 
for  the  peculiar  animation  of  life  which  he  could  give  to  human  figures, 
the  energy  and  significance  he  could  put  into  the  turn  of  a  head,  the 
gesture  of  an  arm,  the  glance  of  an  eye.  He  gives  the  sense  of  human 
magnetism,  of  people  attracted  or  repelled  by  each  other.  And  all  is  done 
with  the  simplest  means,  by  his  instinct  for  the  essential  line. 


8 


CHAPTER  II 

FEBRUARY  3rd,  1695,  TO 
FEBRUARY  5™,  1730 


CHAPTER  II 


FEBRUARY  3rd,  1695,  TO 
FEBRUARY  5™,  1730 

From  the  death  of  Moronobu  till  the  close  of  the  Genroku  period,  the 
prospects  of  Ukiyo-ye  were  far  from  bright. 

Morofusa,  upon  whom  the  Hishikawa  mantle  had  fallen,  was  devoid  of 
originality  and  did  not  possess  the  ability  to  be  even  a  good  imitator.  His 
spiritless  work  is  but  the  ghost  of  the  easy  yet  powerful  brush-work  of  his 
great  ancestor. 

Moroshige,  though  a  far  better  artist,  never  quite  mastered  his  teacher's 
style.  Ryusen  showed  some  independence ;  but  his  drawings  are  un¬ 
pleasantly  stilted. 

Kiyonobu  was  producing  good  work,  though  the  Hishikawa  influence 
was  too  marked  to  invest  it  with  originality  except  as  regards  subject. 
Fortunately,  he  was  too  great  an  artist  to  remain  long  in  this  groove  ;  and 
towards  1703  he  evolved  a  robust  style  which,  though  lacking  the  grace 
of  Moronobu,  was  almost  as  powerful. 

His  manner  at  this  time  may  be  studied  in  the  books  Furyii  shihd  bydbu 
and  Keisei  yehon ,  each  in  two  volumes,  published  in  the  3rd  and  4th 
months  respectively  of  1700. 

Similar  work  may  be  seen  in  his  sumi-  and  tan-ye,  issued  in  hoso- 
kakemono-,  and  yoko-ye  format,  which  set  the  fashion  to  nearly  all  the 
Yedo  artists  of  the  succeeding  periods  of  Hdyei,  Shotoku,  and  Kyoho. 

In  the  beginning  of  Hoyei,  three  talented  artists  in  the  persons  of 
Kwaigetsudo,  Kiyomasu,  and  Masanobu  made  their  debut.  Such  of  the 
former's  life-history  as  is  known  is  given  in  Note  A,  where,  too,  the  problem 
surrounding  him  and  his  so-called  **  group  "  has  been  discussed. 

Kiyomasu,  whose  real  name  was  Torii  Shojiro,  was  the  eldest  son  of 
Kiyonobu,  with  whom  he  lived  at  Naniwa-chd,  Yedo.  The  date  of  his 
birth  has  not  yet  been  definitely  ascertained.  Some  authorities  give  this 
as  1706  ;  but  as  he  was  already  at  work  in  1703,  this  is  obviously  wrong.1 
According  to  the  Torii  Kafu  (family  records)  his  father  was  married  in 

1  In  the  chronicle  of  Ukiyoye  Masters,  dated  September,  1920,  forming  an  appendix 
to  No.  55  of  the  monthly  magazine  Ukiyo-ye,  the  commencement  of  his  activity  is 
given  as  1704.  In  the  Hayashi  sale  catalogue,  Paris,  1902,  lot  No.  1434,  a  book  dated 
1703  is  attributed  to  him.  Moreover,  in  an  article  entitled  “  Tea-talks  on  Ukiyo-ye  ” 
( Ukiyo-ye  chabanashi),  it  is  recorded  that  Kiyomasu  was  married  in  the  summer  of  Kyoho 
(April-May,  1724) ;  so  if  we  accept  1706  as  the  year  of  his  birth  his  marriage  must  have 
taken  place  when  he  was  seventeen,  which  appears  somewhat  premature.  For  the  question 
of  his  identity  with  Kiyonobu  II,  and  possibility  of  a  2nd  Kiyomasu,  see  Note  B. 


II 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


1693,  so  that  it  is  possible  that  he  was  born  in  1694,  in  which  case  he  would 
have  been  ten  in  1703,  according  to  Japanese  reckoning.  He,  like  his 
father,  painted  theatrical  sign-boards  and  designed  playbills.  His  death 
occurred  on  December  6,  1763  (Horeki  13,  2nd  day  of  nth  month)  and 
not  as  often  stated,  owing  to  discrepancy  in  reading  the  month  number 
on  his  tombstone,  on  January  4,  1764  (Horeki  13,  2nd  day  of  12th  month). 
His  activity  lasted  till  about  1758. 

Masanobu,  whose  real  name  was  Okumura  Gempachi,  appears  to  have 
been  born  at  Yedo  of  unknown  parentage  in  1691.  He  was  self-taught, 
studying  the  styles  of  Moronobu,  Sukenobu,  and  Kwaigetsudo. 

His  earliest  work  is  to  be  seen  in  a  theatrical  booklet  entitled  Kyotaro , 
published  in  1703, 1  which  he  followed  up  in  1704  with  a  book  of 
courtesans  in  which  he  displays  so  much  skill  that  it  is  difficult  to  credit 
the  above  statement  that  he  was  born  in  1691.  Nevertheless,  this  date  is 
undoubtedly  correct ;  for,  on  a  six- panel  screen  painting  of  a  “  theatre 
and  performance/'  No.  195,  reproduced  on  picture  124  of  the  illustrated 
catalogue  of  Japanese  Old  Fine  Arts  displayed  at  the  Japan-British  Exhibi¬ 
tion ,  London ,  1910,  and  again  by  the  owner,  Mr.  Fukuba  Toru,  in  his 
catalogue  of  One  Hundred  Ukiyoye  Paintings ,  exhibited  at  Paris  in  1911, 
the  following  is  recorded  :  **  Japanese  painting,  drawn  by  Okumura 
Masanobu  in  Kyoho  16  at  the  age  of  forty-one." 

On  the  painting  the  name  of  the  play  that  is  being  performed  is  inscribed, 
namely  **  Fukubiki  Nagoya,"  and  the  mon  (sort  of  heraldic  device)  of 
the  Nakamura  theatre  and  other  details  concerning  the  actors  are  plainly 
visible.  This  play  was,  in  fact,  produced  at  this  theatre  in  the  spring  of 
1731  ;  and  the  actors  depicted  by  Masanobu  correspond  with  some  of 
those  who  took  part  in  the  performance.  It  is,  therefore,  unreasonable 
in  the  face  of  this  evidence  to  discount  Masanobu's  birth  in  1691  merely 
on  the  ground  that  a  boy  of  thirteen  could  hardly  have  shown  such  talent 
as  is  exhibited  in  the  book  of  courtesans  referred  to  above. 

Precocity  more  or  less  similar  is  found  among  other  Ukiyoye  artists.  As 
examples,  we  have  Kiyomasu  already  noted ;  Moronobu's  granddaughter 
O  Sawa,  the  daughter  of  his  second  son  Moronaga,  who  followed  her 
father's  profession  at  the  age  of  six  or  seven ;  Yamasaki  Ryu,  a  girl  pupil  of 
Moronobu,  who  began  to  paint  when  six  or  seven  and  showed  extraordinary 
talent  at  the  age  of  fifteen ;  Shunsho's  pupil  Shunyei  who  illustrated  a 
book  when  fourteen ;  Toyokuni's  pupils,  Kuninao  and  Kunitsugu,  and 
Toyohiro's  son  Toyokiyo,  who  each  illustrated  a  book  at  the  age  of  twelve. 

1  Hayashi  Collection  sale,  Paris,  June,  1902,  No.  1457. 


12 


FROM  1695  TO  1730 

Though  Masanobu,  Nishimura  Shigenaga,  and  Kondd  Kiyoharu  are 
recorded  in  Ukiyoye  ruiko  as  pupils  of  Kiyonobu,  the  writer  Shikitei 
Samba  (1775-1822)  states  that  they  were  all  self-taught,  adding  **  all 
Ukiyo-ye  at  this  time  were  done  in  the  Torii  style/'  Certainly  an 
examination  of  Masanobu’s  work  during  Hoyei  and  Shotoku  leads  one 
to  the  same  conclusion. 

Masanobu  started  his  career  as  an  artist,  not  as  a  bookseller  as  is  generally 
believed.  It  was  not  till  the  Kyoho  period  that  he  set  up  as  a  publisher  in 
Tori  Shio-cho.  A  picture  of  his  in  Yedo  meibutsu  ganoko,  of  1733,  is 
inscribed  “Abura-cho  beni-ye  " ;  so  he  may  have  then  had  a  branch  in 
that  street.  Prior  to  Kyoho,  his  works  were  issued  by  other  publishers  ; 
and  it  was  not  till  that  period  that  he  produced  his  own  books  and  prints. 
As  a  publisher,  he  called  himself  Kwakujudo  (his  do- go  or  business  name) 
Okumura-ya  Genroku,  and  used  a  red  gourd-shaped  sign  as  his  trade-mark 
or  shop-sign  ( iye  no  shirushi ),  which  is  found  on  many  of  his  prints.  He  had 
reason  to  complain  that  prints  were  being  forged  with  his  signature  and 
that  his  own  prints  were  being  copied  and  sold  without  his  sanction.  At 
length  he  found  it  necessary  to  stamp  his  gourd  seal  as  a  guarantee,  and 
to  warn  the  public  that  only  prints  so  sealed,  and  signed  by  him  with 
the  prefix  Shomei,  or  the  affix  sho  hitsu,  meaning  respectively  44  genuine 
name  "  and  44  real  brush,"  were  his  own  work. 

On  a  hoso-urushi-ye  representing  the  actor  Bando  Hikosaburo  I  upon 
his  first  appearance  on  the  Yedo  stage  at  the  close  of  1727  is  the  following 
inscription  :  **  Genuine  brush  of  the  Japanese  artist  Okumura  Shinmyo 
Masanobu,  originator  of  a  particular  style  of  Ukiyo-ye ;  Okumura-ya  at 
the  sign  of  the  red  gourd,  wholesaler  of  illustrated  books,  in  Tori-shio 
street  " — (44  Nippon  gwako  Ukiyo-ye  ichi-ryu  kongen  Okumura  Shinmyo 
Masanobu  sho  hitsu ;  Tori-shio  cho  yezoshi  toi-ya  akaki  hyotan  shirushi 
Okumura-ya  ").  Probably  he  intended  to  intimate  by  the  expression 
44  originator  of  a  particular  style  of  Ukiyo-ye  "  that  he  was  the  inventor 
of  the  Urushi-ye  or  so-called  lacquer  picture. 

Masanobu  used  several  go  or  **  pseudonyms,"  the  earliest  of  which  was 
Shinmyo  (pronounced  Shimmyo).  Others  were  Hogetsudo,  Bunkaku, 
Bai-o,  and  Tanchosai.  The  first  three  of  these  he  received  from  his 
Haikai  (17-syllable  poem)  master  Shogetsudo  Fukaku  Sen-o,  of  whom  he 
made  an  excellent  portrait  as  the  frontispiece  to  his  picture  book  Tsuru  no 
hashi,  or  44  The  Crane's  Beak,"  published  in  1752,  in  which  he  exhibits 
work  of  the  highest  order.  He  styled  himself  at  various  times  **  Refined 
Japanese  painter  "  ( Furyu  Yamato  yeshi)  and  “  Yedo  Japanese  artist  " 


13 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


( Tobu  Yamato  gwako).  He  died  on  March  29th,  1768,  his  age  being  given 
by  two  authorities  as  seventy- nine,  which  makes  the  date  of  his  birth 
1690,  though  as  already  explained  1691  appears  more  likely.  He  seems 
to  have  retired  from  active  work  about  fifteen  years  previously. 

Furuyama  Moromasa,  a  pupil  of  Moroshige,  began  work  in  Shotoku. 
The  dates  of  his  birth  and  death  are  alike  unknown.  His  activity  extended 
at  least  to  the  autumn  of  1772,  when  he  designed  a  print  of  the  actor 
Nakamura  Noshio  as  the  courtesan  Takao  in  the  play  “  Keisei  Momiji  no 
uchikake  ”  then  produced  at  the  Morita  theatre.  He  used  the  go  of 
Getsugetsudo.  At  first  influenced  by  Kiyonobu,  he  later  followed  the 
middle  style  of  Masanobu,  and  finally  that  of  Kiyotsune. 

Another  pupil  of  Moroshige  was  Furuyama  Morotane,  of  whom  nothing 
is  known  save  two  paintings — one  of  a  courtesan  of  the  Kyoho  period  in 
the  writer's  possession  being  exceptionally  fine  and  somewhat  in  the 
style  of  Kiyomasu,  and  one  hand-coloured  hoso-ye  in  the  Kunstgewerbe 
Museum,  Berlin,  of  the  actor  Ichimura  Takenojo  as  Kichisaburo  the  lover 
of  O  Shichi.  A  reproduction  of  this  print  is  to  be  seen  on  Plate  7  of 
Kurth's  Die  Primitiven  des  Japanholzschnitts ,  Dresden,  1922. 

During  Shotoku,  Kyoto  Ukiyo-ye  had  fallen  into  a  languishing  condition 
after  the  death  of  the  painter  and  book  illustrator  Hinaya  Rippo  in  1669. 
Yoshida  Hambei  made  a  bid  for  and  succeeded  in  gaining  popular  favour 
by  illustrating  books,  clever  in  their  way  but  certainly  decadent.  These 
books,  known  as  Koshoku-bon  (lewd  books),  deal  with  degenerates  called 
wakashu  or  kagema,  young  effeminates  of  attractive  mien  who  masqueraded 
in  women's  clothes.  The  Bakufu  or  Shogun's  government  issued  an 
edict  in  Kyoto  for  their  suppression.  Another  Kyoto  artist,  Omori  Yoshi- 
kiyo,  who  worked  from  1701  to  1716,  illustrated  a  few  books,  but  showed 
little  talent.  It  was  left  to  Nishikawa  Sukenobu  to  infuse  new  life  into  the 
Kyoto  Ukiyo-ye,  which  he  did  by  a  number  of  books  chiefly  depicting 
charming  and  dainty  girls  and  women.  This  artist  was  born  in  1671  at 
Kyoto,  his  personal  name  being  first  Yusuke  and  then  Yukyo,  and  his  go 
Jitokusai  and  Bunkwado.  At  first  he  studied  under  Kano  Yeino  and  then 
in  the  Tosa  school,  finally  forming  his  own  style  and  founding  a  school 
at  Kyoto  which  was  attended  by  numerous  pupils.  He  died  on  October 
19th,  1751,  in  the  eighty-first  year  of  his  age. 

The  Kyoho  period  stands  out  as  one  of  the  most  important  in  Ukiyoye 
history,  not  only  on  account  of  a  remarkable  &rray  of  talented  artists,  but 
also  for  the  advance  made  in  technique.  In  Kinsei  Seji-dan,  published  in 
1734,  we  read  :  “  Ukiyo-ye  were  first  painted  by  Hishikawa  Kichibei 

14 


FROM  1695  TO  1730 

(Moronobu)  of  Yedo.  Afterwards,  Furuyama  Shinkuro  (Moromasa) 
followed  his  style.  The  present  artists  are  Kwaigetsudo,  Okumura  Masa- 
nobu,  etc.  Their  pictures  are  called  yedo-ye .  Miss  Ryu  began  painting 
at  the  age  of  six  or  seven,  and  became  skilful.  Her  writing  was  as  good  as 
her  painting.  She  was  the  best  of  lady  painters.  .  .  .  From  the  beginning 
of  Kyoho,  Izumi-ya  Gonshiro  of  Dobo-cho,  Asakusa  barrier-gate,  Yedo, 
published  Ukiyoye  actor-prints  coloured  with  beni  (a  red  pigment  extracted 
from  a  species  of  saffron),  which  became  widely  known  in  Kyoto,  Osaka, 
and  throughout  several  provinces.  They  were  bought  for  children  to 
play  with,  and  were  reckoned  among  the  special  products  of  Yedo."  The 
famous  writer  Santo  Kyoden  (1761-1816),  well  known,  too,  as  artist 
under  the  name  of  Kitao  Masanobu,  tells  us  in  Volume  I  of  his  Kottoshu, 
published  in  the  12th  month  of  Bunsei  12,  that  in  his  opinion  “  single¬ 
sheet  prints  ( ichimai-ye )  appeared  some  time  during  the  Yempo-Tenna 
era  (1673-1684),  the  subjects  being  Asahina  engaged  in  a  neck-pulling 
( kubi-biki )  contest  with  demons,  Tosa  joruri  (a  kind  of  musical  drama), 
Rats'  wedding  ceremony,  and  such-like.  The  actor  Bozu  Kohei  may  have 
been  the  first  theatrical  print.  At  that  time  they  ( sumi-ichimai-ye )  were 
crudely  coloured  in  tan,  green,  blue,  etc.  Hishikawa  Moronobu  and 
Furuyama  Moroshige  painted  them.  From  the  beginning  of  Genroku, 
pictures  coloured  with  tan  and  green  pigments  were  termed  Tan-ye .  From 
about  the  end  of  this  period,  Torii  Kiyonobu  and  his  son  Kiyomasu 
painted  them.  In  Hoyei  and  Shotoku  periods,  Kondd  Kiyoharu  appeared. 
In  the  beginning  of  Kyoho,  beni-ye  originated.  Pictures,  on  which  a  lustre 
was  produced  by  spreading  glue  on  the  sumi ,  were  called  Urushi-ye.  These 
were  chiefly  made  by  Okumura  Masanobu."  Illustrative  of  Kyoden's 
article  is  an  interesting  woodcut  of  a  beni-ye  pedlar.  Beni-ye  here  refers 
to  the  hand-coloured  prints. 

In  Ukiyoye  ruiko  tsuiko,  published  in  1802,  we  read  :  “  In  the  beginning 
of  Kyoho,  Izumi-ya  Gonshiro  of  Dobo-cho  began  to  sell  pictures  coloured 
with  benif  which  were  called  beni-ye .  Improvements  were  made  by 
applying  glue  to  black  and  by  sprinkling  gold-dust ;  and  these  Urushi-ye 
were  very  popular." 

From  these  extracts  it  would  appear  that  beni-ye  were  invented  by 
Gonshird.  There  are  prints  by  Torii  Kiyotada,  Katsukawa  Terushige, 
and  Okumura  Toshinobu,  and  perhaps  by  other  artists  upon  which  is 
inscribed  within  a  vase-shaped  seal,  “  Beni-ye  :  original  publisher  Gonshiro 
of  Dobo-cho,  Asakusa  gate "  (Beni-ye  Kongen  hammoto  Gonshird 
Asakusa  mitsuke  Dobo-cho),  which  goes  to  prove  the  truth  of  the  above 

15 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


statements.  As  to  who  was  the  first  artist  to  design  these  beni-ye  there  is 
no  direct  evidence,  except  the  names  of  the  above  artists. 

There  seems  little  doubt  that  Okumura  Masanobu  first  used  the  glue 
device  and  perhaps  the  sprinkling  with  gold-dust,  though  this  latter  alone 
is  found  on  some  prints  by  Kiyomasu  and  others  which  may  antedate 
Kyoho,  but  this  is  uncertain. 

Kondo  Kiyoharu,  mentioned  above  by  Samba  as  having  been  an  inde¬ 
pendent  artist  in  Hdyei  and  Shotoku,  was  commonly  known  as  Sukegoro. 
He  designed  a  few  good  tan-  and  umshi-ye,  but  was  chiefly  noted  as  an 
illustrator  of  red-covered  books  known  as  Kompira-bon,1  and  readers. 
Kondo  Kiyonobu  appears  to  have  been  his  pupil  who  worked  during 
Kyoho  in  a  similar  manner. 

An  original,  if  somewhat  erratic,  artist  was  Hanekawa  Chincho,  whose 
name  was  Manaka  and  who  was  popularly  called  Ota  Bungoro,  Ota  being 
the  old  name  of  Kawaguchi  village,  Saitama  district,  in  the  province  of 
Musashi,  where  he  was  born  in  1679.  According  to  Kyokutei  Bakin 
(1767-1848),  in  his  miscellany  entitled  Yenseki  Zasshi ,  “  he  was  a  poor 
but  proud  samurai ,  who  refused  the  offer  of  a  publisher  to  provide  him  with 
lodging,  food,  and  raiment  on  condition  that  he  would  work  for  him  alone, 
saying :  *  Poverty  is  the  common  lot  of  a  samurai .  Why  should  I  bend 
my  back  for  5  to  (about  2f  bushels)  of  rice  i  etc.'  ”  The  same  author  says 
that  he  would  work  only  when  in  the  mood,  and  that  when  it  pleased  him 
he  would  even  paint  theatrical  sign-boards. 

Chincho  studied  under  Kiyonobu,  from  whom  he  received  the  name 
of  Motonobu.  He  afterwards,  during  Shotoku,  took  the  brush  name 
of  Hanekawa — one  hand-coloured  print  of  Daikoku  standing  on  a  bale 
of  rice  bearing  the  signature  “  Hanekawa  Motonobu  fude.”  His  painting 
of  sign-boards  probably  took  place  when  he  was  under  the  Kiyonobu 
influence  during  Genroku  and  Hoyei. 

He  sometimes  used  the  go  of  Kwaijosai  in  books  and  prints.  In  1742  he 
illustrated  a  Yoshiwara  guide  ( saiken ),  his  last  known  work.  He  died  in 
1754  at  the  age  of  seventy-six.  His  prints  are  very  rare,  consisting  of  4 
or  5  tan-ye,  and  3  or  4  urushi-ye .  He  had  two  pupils  named  Hanekawa 
Wagen  and  Okinobu,  each  of  whom  designed  2  or  3  urushi-ye  during 
Kyoho. 

Several  new  recruits  joined  the  ranks  during  this  period.  The  most 
important  of  these  were  the  Nishimura,  Shigenaga  and  Shigenobu ;  the 
Torii,  Kiyotada,  Kiyotomo,  and  Kiyoshige ;  and  Okumura  Toshinobu. 

1  Kompira-bon  dealt  with  Joruri  chanters  of  Yedo. 

16 


FROM  1695  TO  1730 

Shigenaga  was  born  in  1697  at  Yedo.  He  was  a  landowner  ( Ji-nushi ), 
not  a  tea-house  keeper  as  is  commonly  stated,  in  Tori  Abura-chd.  Later 
he  removed  to  the  Kanda  quarter,  where  he  opened  a  bookshop.  He  used 
the  go  of  Senkwado  and  more  rarely  that  of  Yeikwado.  He  was  a  self- 
taught  artist,  working  on  much  the  same  lines  as  Okumura  Masanobu. 
His  death  occurred  in  1756. 

Shigenobu  was  born  in  1711.  About  1728,  he  became  a  pupil  of  Shige¬ 
naga,  and  in  1731  designed  his  first  print  under  the  name  of  Nishimura 
Shigenobu.  He  also  used  the  brush  name  of  Magosaburd  with  or  without 
that  of  Shigenobu.  Some  time  after  1737  or  1738,  he  married  the  daughter 
of  an  innkeeper  in  Kodemma-chd,  and  changed  his  geisei  or  art  surname 
to  Ishikawa,  and  his  gwamyo  or  art  personal  name  to  Toyonobu,  using  too 
the  go  of  Tanjodo  and  Shuha.  After  his  marriage  he  became  the  proprietor 
of  the  inn,  the  name  of  which  was  Nuka-ya,  whence  he  received  the 
popular  name  of  Nukaya  Shichibei.  He  died  on  the  25th  day  of  5th 
month  of  Temmei  5,  corresponding  to  July  1st,  1785,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
five.  His  popularity  may  be  gauged  from  a  series  of  twelve  kyoka  or 
humorous  poems  each  commencing  with  a  character  of  his  name,  meaning 
44  feeling  sorrow  at  the  death  of  Shuha."  These  poems  were  composed 
by  the  celebrated  comic  versifier  Yomo  no  Akara,  otherwise  Shokusanjin 
(6.  1749,  d .  1823). 

Kiyotada,  Kiyotomo,  and  Kiyoshige  were  pupils  of  Kiyonobu  I  from 
the  beginning  of  Kyoho.  The  first  two  remained  at  work  till  about  1744- 
1745,  according  to  the  Chronicle  of  Ukiyoye  Masters  in  Ukiyo-ye,  No.  55, 
appendix.1  Kiyoshige's  activity  lasted  till  about  1758.  The  dates  of  their 
birth  and  death  are  unrecorded.  Kiyoshige  sometimes  used  the  go  of 
Seichoken. 

Toshinobu  was  the  son  and  pupil  of  Okumura  Masanobu.  Dates  of 
birth  and  death  unknown  ;  but  worked  from  about  1725  to  1749.  He  used 
at  times  the  go  of  Kwakugetsudo  and  Bunzen  as  a  book  illustrator,  but  as 
far  as  is  known  not  as  a  print  designer. 

Several  print  designers  of  minor  importance  appeared  during  this  period. 
Their  work  is  scarce  but  in  most  cases  of  much  distinction.  A  list  of 
their  names  with  approximate  dates  of  their  activity  will  suffice. 

Okumura  Kuninobu,  c.  1733,  of  whom  only  one  urushi-ye  is  so  far  known. 
He  was  a  pupil  of  Masanobu. 

Hirose  Shigenobu,  w.c.  1724-1735. 

Tamura  Yoshinobu,  w.c.  1725-1734. 

1  See  also  Note  B  as  regards  Kiyotada’s  activity. 

17 


C 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


Tamura  Sadanobu,  w.c.  1725-1740. 

Tsunegawa  Shigenobu  may  be  identical  with  Hirose  above ;  he  worked 
about  the  same  time. 

Katsukawa  Terushige,  Katsumura  Terunobu,  Fujikawa  Yoshinobu, 
Yamamoto  Shigeharu,  Kichikawa  Katsumasa,  Torii  Kiyoharu,  and 
Shimizu  Mitsunobu  were  contemporaries  of  the  above.  Each  did  good 
work  imitative  of  either  the  Torii  or  Okumura  styles  of  this  period.  In 
Volume  IX  of  Kenkyo-ruitensho  it  is  recorded  that  in  the  7th  month  of 
Kyoho  6  (1721)  the  authorities  forbade  the  publication  of  books  and 
picture-books  concerning  current  events,  and  also  for  the  time  being  the 
printing  and  peddling  of  ichimai-ye  (single-sheet  pictures)  of  the  same. 
This  may,  perhaps,  account  for  the  restricted  output  of  these  artists. 
How  long  this  order  remained  in  force  is  not  recorded.  This  stage  closes 
with  the  death  of  the  first  Torii  Kiyonobu  in  1729.  He  appears  to  have 
retired  from  active  work  during  1727,  and  to  have  handed  the  succession 
to  his  eldest  son  Kiyomasu,  who  then  became  the  second  Torii,  at  the 
same  time  retaining  his  first  name.  It  is  from  about  this  year  that  prints 
bearing  either  signature  (i.e.  Kiyonobu  or  Kiyomasu)  are  so  alike  in 
style.  Many  of  these  signed  44  Kiyonobu  ”  and  hitherto  ascribed  to  the 
father  are  in  reality  the  work  of  the  son.  For  instance,  out  of  three  examples 
given  by  Kurth  in  the  1922  edition  of  his  book,  Der  Japanische  Holzschnitt , 
Plates  12  and  13  are  certainly  by  the  second  Kiyonobu.  So,  too,  is  the 
print  reproduced  on  Plate  14  of  the  same  author's  book,  Die  primitiven 
des  Japanholzschnitts ,  Dresden,  1922.  An  innovation  during  this  period 
was  the  three-sheet  continuous  picture  called  sambukutsui — an  innovation, 
so  far  as  prints  only  were  concerned,  for  the  term  had  long  been  in  use  in 
regard  to  paintings  of  the  classical  schools. 

In  a  period  like  that  of  Genroku,  an  age  of  luxury,  pageantry,  and 
pleasure,  the  craving  for  new  modes  of  self-expression  was  imperious  and 
persistent.  Ukiyo-ye  was  a  mirror  in  which  the  Yedo  public,  avid  of 
novelty  and  enjoyment,  looked  to  see  itself. 

Moronobu,  with  the  immense  mass  of  his  picture-books,  had  pictured 
scenes  from  life  and  legend  and  the  history  of  Japan  with  delightful 
vivacity.  But  it  was  above  all  the  passing  hour,  the  doings  and  the  fashions 
of  the  moment,  that  the  public  craved  to  see  mirrored  in  the  woodcuts  to 
which  Moronobu  had  given  such  a  vogue  ;  its  own  doings,  and  the  features 
and  the  dresses  of  its  favourite  idols. 

Kiyonobu,  who  came  to  Yedo  just  before  Genroku  opened,  created  the 

18 


FROM  1695  TO  1730 

actor-print ;  and  from  now  till  the  very  end — that  is,  for  nearly  two 
centuries — the  actor-print  was  to  be  one  of  the  two  main  preoccupations 
of  the  woodcut  designers.  The  other  centred  in  bijin-ye,  the  prints  of 
popular  beauties,  especially  of  courtesans.  Kiyonobu  and  Kiyomasu 
designed  bijin-ye,  but  it  is  especially  with  the  prints  of  actors,  either  singly 
or  in  a  group  of  two — rarely  more — that  the  Torii  in  the  days  of  their 
glory  are  associated. 

Till  his  death  in  1729,  Kiyonobu  ranked  as  the  leading  master  in  Ukiyo-ye. 
So  many  of  his  earlier  prints  must  have  been  lost,  that  we  are  not  really 
in  a  position  to  judge  of  his  work  as  a  whole.  One  or  two  poster- paintings, 
ascribed  to  him,  have  survived  ;  but  our  estimate  of  his  art  is  founded 
upon  his  single-sheet  prints.  And  in  the  extant  prints  he  has  his  son 
Kiyomasu  as  his  close  rival ;  for  few,  if  any,  woodcuts  have  been  preserved 
from  days  before  Kiyomasu  came  on  the  scene.  In  gift  there  seems  little 
to  choose  between  the  two,  though  Kiyonobu  was  the  leader.  Father  and 
son  together  founded  the  Torii  tradition  which  was  to  last  so  long. 

With  the  Hoyei  period  (1704-1711)  we  come  to  a  time  when  the  single¬ 
sheet  prints,  which  are  our  main  concern,  begin  to  appear  in  quantity, 
though  doubtless  only  a  fraction  have  been  preserved. 

From  books  published  in  1700 — the  album  called  Shin  Yoshiwara,  for 
instance,  a  copy  of  which  is  in  the  Boston  Museum — we  can  form  a  good 
idea  of  Kiyonobu's  style  at  that  period.  The  influence  of  Moronobu  is 
obvious,  but  there  is  a  stronger  element  of  caligraphy  in  the  drawing, 
which  sweeps  in  the  outline  of  a  figure  with  a  few  ample  curves,  and  the 
patterns  on  the  dresses  are  big,  bold,  and  simple,  such  as  a  few  immensely 
magnified  flowers,  alternately  black  with  white  centres,  and  white  with 
black  centres,  sprinkled  over  the  form. 

Kiyonobu's  art  was  fundamentally  that  of  the  poster-designer.  Such 
work  was  to  tell  at  a  distance  as  a  stimulating  pattern  to  the  eye.  There 
was  no  room  for  the  subtle  or  the  exquisite.  Forcible  black  lines  make  an 
exhilarating  arabesque,  like  the  lead-lines  in  a  stained-glass  window,  in 
which  the  details  of  form  seem  almost  irrelevant. 

During  Hoyei  period  Kiyonobu's  style  in  single  prints  becomes  more 
personal,  and  at  its  best  has  an  exultation  and  exuberance  of  line  which 
reconcile  us  to  a  looseness  or  even  a  certain  emptiness  in  the  forms.  He 
invents  striking  patterns  ;  sometimes  capriciously  making  a  decoration 
out  of  Japanese  characters  traced  in  rapid  caligraphy  over  a  dress,  and 
partly  cut  in  gleaming  white  out  of  a  field  of  black ;  the  invention  of  the 

19 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


white  line  invading  a  black  mass  being  peculiarly  congenial  to  the  wood- 
engraver's  art,  though  never  exploited  by  the  Japanese  as  it  has  been  in 
Europe.  But  it  is  above  all  the  breadth,  bigness,  and  impetus  of  Kiyonobu's 
sweeping  outlines  that  give  the  character  to  his  art.  With  all  the  centuries 
of  Japanese  painting  behind  him,  all  its  discoveries,  achievements,  and 
sophistications,  he  makes  a  new  start  as  with  the  joyous  confidence  of  a 
gifted  child.  He  exults  in  the  force  of  his  brush-lines  for  their  own  sake  ; 
and  they  give  us  pleasure,  even  when  they  seem  to  do  little  but  enforce 
and  enrich  the  pattern  of  the  design. 

There  is  a  considerable  difference  between  the  large  prints  of  scenes 
from  legend,  whether  direct  illustrations  or  stage-presentments,  and  the 
small  actor-prints.  The  former  are  much  richer  and  more  complex  as 
designs,  and  overflow  with  energy.  The  two  prints  reproduced  in  the 
Paris  V.I.  Catalogue,  Plate  XI,  are  masterpieces  of  this  kind.  The  violence 
of  gesture  and  expression — eyes  starting  out  of  the  head,  contorted  limbs, 
extravagantly  sprawling  action — is  at  times  grotesque.  There  is  a  barbaric 
element  in  Kiyonobu,  and  the  fierce  orange-red  and  yellow  filling  in  the 
strong  black  outlines  heighten  the  savage  effect.  But  this  primitive 
effervescent  energy  was  of  great  value  to  Ukiyo-ye  at  this  time. 

What  we  say  of  Kiyonobu  applies  equally  to  Kiyomasu.  As  woodcuts 
and  as  works  of  art  there  is  nothing  finer  in  their  work  than  certain  prints 
of  hawks  and  eagles,  of  which  most  now  extant  are  from  the  hand  of  Kiyo¬ 
masu.  Here  there  is  less  of  the  rapid  formula  which  the  Torii  used  for 
human  form  and  feature.  The  anger-ruffled  plumage  of  the  great  birds, 
the  black  and  cruel  stare  of  the  eye,  are  given  in  strokes  of  astonishing 
force.  Two  prints  by  Kiyomasu,  one  of  an  eagle  eyeing  a  monkey  cowering 
and  whimpering  under  a  pine  branch  below  it,  the  other  of  the  eagle  with 
the  agonized  monkey  in  its  claws,  are  of  an  almost  terrifying  vitality. 

Though  1729  is  now  accepted  as  the  date  of  Kiyonobu's  death,  the 
majority  of  the  prints  still  catalogued  under  his  name  are  prints  published 
after  that  date,  and  therefore  by  Kiyonobu  the  Second.  Not  only  the 
beni-ye  in  a  small,  delicate  style,  signed  Kiyonobu,  which  date  from  after 
1741,  must  be  eliminated,  but  also  many  of  the  hand-coloured  prints  which 
have  survived — probably  most  of  them.  The  records  of  the  Yedo  stage 
enable  us  to  date  a  number  of  the  early  actor-prints,  and  we  thus  get  a 
clue  to  changes  of  style  which  enable  us  to  date  others.  All  prints  of 
Segawa  Kikunojo,  for  instance,  the  first  of  that  name,  so  famous  on  the 
stage  for  women's  parts,  date  from  December  1730  and  after. 


20 


FROM  1695  TO  1730 

The  residue  of  prints  which  are  indubitably  the  work  of  Kiyonobu  the 
First  form  a  very  limited  series  ;  and  the  genius  of  the  first  great  Torii 
master  appears,  in  our  revised  conception  of  him,  with  its  exuberant 
vehemence  heightened  and  enhanced.  Only  towards  the  end  is  this 
vigour  a  little  tamed  and  softened. 

This  restless  energy,  and  the  peculiar  Torii  conventions — a  linear  style 
which  the  Japanese  compare  to  “  the  wriggling  of  worms,”  must  have 
given  novelty  of  contrast  to  the  style  of  the  Kwaigetsudo  prints,  when  they 
began  to  appear  during  Hoyei.  These  tall,  stately  single  figures,  with 
rather  inexpressive  faces,  are  drawn  with  a  magnificent  sweep  of  line,  but 
are  much  more  contained  than  the  swirling  forms  of  the  Torii  work.  The 
general  effect  is  suave  and  serene.  If  these  prints  were  not  so  extremely 
rare,  we  should  find  them  monotonous  ;  the  repertory  of  pose  and  gesture 
is  so  limited.  But,  few  as  they  are,  they  fill  a  historic  place  in  Ukiyo-ye. 
They  have  a  grandeur  of  aspect  rarely  afterwards  matched. 

It  is  noticeable  that  in  a  large-sized  tan-ye  of  an  Oiran  and  Kamuro 
reproduced  in  Masterpieces  of  Ukiyo-ye,  Vol.  Ill,  Plate  82,  Kiyonobu  is 
found  working  very  much  under  Kwaigetsudo  influence,  though  he  gives 
a  characteristic  sway  and  swing  to  the  superb  figure. 

But  a  far  more  fertile  genius  than  Kwaigetsudo  had  already  appeared  in 
the  field.  Okumura  Masanobu,  as  has  been  recorded,  was  a  precocious 
boy.  His  youthful  productions  follow  pretty  closely  the  style  of  Kiyonobu 
and  Kiyomasu  (or  of  Moronobu  in  non-theatrical  subjects),  and  he  seems 
soon  to  be  working  on  equal  terms  with  them.  In  the  Boston  Museum  is 
a  book  of  Yoshiwara  beauties,  published  in  1711,  in  which  Masanobu 
repeats,  almost  line  for  line,  some  of  the  figures  in  Kiyonobu's  Keisei 
Yehon  of  1700  and  similar  albums.1  Probably  these  books  of  beauties  were 
issued  every  year.  The  full  scope  of  Masanobu's  genius  was  hardly 
revealed  till  after  Kiyonobu's  death,  but  he  was  quick  to  see  the  possi¬ 
bilities  of  a  larger  range  of  subject-matter  than  the  Torii  masters  affected. 
The  great  success  of  Sukenobu  in  Kyoto  and  the  popularity  of  his  picture- 
books  suggested  that  the  woodcut  need  not  confine  itself  to  the  Yoshiwara 
and  the  theatre.  If  Sukenobu  had  found  inexhaustible  material  in  the 
occupations  and  amusements  of  young  women  and  girls,  why  should  these 
not  provide  charming  motives  for  single-sheets  i  There  exist  a  few  prints 
by  Sukenobu,  though  nearly  all  his  work  is  in  paintings  and  book-illustra¬ 
tions  ;  two  hand-coloured  woodcuts,  of  unusual  shape,  are  in  the  British 

1  Information  supplied  by  Mr.  Kojiro  Tomita,  assistant  curator  in  the  Museum  of  Fine 
Arts,  Boston. 


21 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


Museum  collection,  and  another  is  reproduced  by  Ficke,  Plate  2 ;  but 
he  did  not  exploit  this  favourite  form  of  popular  art  as  it  had  been  exploited 
in  Yedo.  Obviously  the  Torii  style  was  ill-suited  to  idyllic  and  domestic 
subjects.  It  was  entirely  incapable  of  intimacy.  And  if  the  range  of  the 
woodcut  was  to  be  enlarged  in  this  direction,  a  change  of  style  was  bound 
to  come.  A  more  supple  and  delicate  manner  of  design  was  required. 

Throughout  its  history  Ukiyo-ye  is  always  under  the  mysterious  influences 
of  fashion.  Novelty  and  change  are  a  necessity  to  the  life  of  this  popular 
art.  We  see  it  alternately  swayed  in  one  direction  and  another.  The 
original  impulse  to  a  new  method  or  new  motives  may  come  from  some 
single  artist,  but  it  is  taken  up  so  swiftly  by  a  group  or  by  a  whole 
generation  that  it  seems  like  a  spontaneous  change  of  outlook  in  the  whole 
school.  Moronobu's  easy  vigour  was  succeeded  by  Kiyonobu's  masculine 
vehemence  ;  then  under  Sukenobu’s  influence  Ukiyo-ye  turns  to  a  softer 
and  more  feminine  manner.  Later  on  we  shall  find  similar  alternations, 
as  from  Harunobu's  exquisiteness  to  Kiyonaga's  grandeur. 

The  point  to  note  is,  how  thoroughly  each  manner,  each  field  of  subject- 
matter,  was  explored  and  exploited  before  it  gave  way  to  the  next  change 
of  fashion. 

The  prints  we  reproduce,  Plates  20  and  21,  illustrate  the  prevailing  manner 
of  the  period  and  the  work  of  its  chief  masters.  The  two  on  PI.  20  are 
typical  of  the  work  of  the  two  chief  Torii  masters  during  the  Shotoku 
period.  The  resemblance  in  style  between  Kiyonobu  and  Kiyomasu  is 
very  close  ;  and  were  the  subjects  of  these  particular  prints  the  same,  the 
parallel  would  seem  closer  still.  The  exuberance  of  Kiyonobu's  swinging 
lines  and  twirling  loops  and  rolling  curves  is  now  just  a  little  chastened, 
but  the  caligraphic  element  is  still  very  strong.  The  human  face  and 
hands  appear  as  part  of  the  general  gay  pattern,  on  equal  terms  with  the 
devices  on  the  dresses,  the  subdivided  areas  of  colour,  and  the  black  lines 
surrounding  them. 

Kiyomasu's  conception  of  figure-drawing  is  essentially  the  same,  a  kind 
of  drawing  which  communicates  the  sense  of  gesture  and  movement 
rather  than  of  form ;  and  both  gestures  and  movements  are  willingly 
repeated  from  a  chosen  repertory  with  slight  variations. 

The  Masanobu  print  reproduced  (PI.  21)  is  later ;  it  belongs  to  mid-Kyoho. 
It  is  a  very  fine  example  of  Masanobu’s  middle  period,  after  he  had  begun 
to  develop  a  personal  style  and  was  drawing  away  from  the  Torii  influence. 
It  is  one  of  the  urushi-ye,  or  u  lacquer-prints/'  which,  as  we  have  seen, 
were  an  invention  probably  of  this  artist.  How  solidly  the  figure  is 


22 


FROM  1695  TO  1730 

projected,  how  compactly  designed  !  The  silhouette  is  beautiful  in  itself. 
The  girl's  dress  is  soft  red,  deep  black,  and  yellow.  There  is  grey-blue  on 
the  fan,  repeated  on  the  skirt.  The  vivid  impression  of  rich  colouring 
comes  from  the  lustrous  depth  of  black  cutting  into  the  other  colours  and 
foiling  them,  while  the  grains  of  gold-dust  powdered  over  the  sash  and  the 
tea-chest  slung  over  the  girl's  shoulder  add  a  final  enhancement.  Masanobu 
has  moved  a  long  way,  in  reality,  from  the  Torii  models.  In  the  Kiyonobu 
and  Kiyomasu  prints  the  lines  twist  and  coil  as  if  they  had  taken  life  on 
their  own  account  and  had  almost  parted  from  their  function  of  defining 
the  forms  beneath  the  dress.  Masanobu's  brush-line  sweeps  firm  and 
graceful,  with  ample  curves,  but  when  he  had  finished,  the  shape  is  there, 
expressed  to  the  eyes  ;  we  feel  a  real,  breathing  body  beneath  the  rich 
delightful  pattern. 

On  an  earlier  urushi-ye  by  Masanobu,  also  in  the  British  Museum 
collection — again  it  is  the  same  actor,  Sanjd  Kantaro,  as  a  dancing  girl — 
is  a  mica  ground,  which  has  every  appearance  of  being  contemporary.  It 
is  the  earliest  known  example  of  this  silvery  background  which  late  in  the 
century  was  to  have  great  vogue  for  a  time. 

With  the  passing  from  favour  of  the  crude,  though  forcible,  tan-ye,  and 
the  advent  of  beni-ye  with  their  softer  colouring,  at  the  beginning  of  Kyoho, 
the  large-sized  prints,  the  scale  of  which  suited  the  bold  and  telling  effects 
of  the  older  style,  became  very  rare.  The  hoso-ye  shape,  about  i2f  x  5I 
in.  was  the  established  size  for  actor-prints.  But  during  Kyoho  was 
devised,  again  by  Masanobu,  the  hashira-ye,  or  pillar-print,  a  form  in 
which  some  of  the  finest  of  all  the  Japanese  colour-prints  were  to  be 
designed. 

Whatever  new  technical  devices  or  inventions  were  made  were  taken  up 
at  once  by  the  whole  school.  For  a  number  of  years  urushi-ye  were  popular, 
and  were  produced  by  the  Torii,  now  reinforced  by  Kiyotada,  Kiyoshige 
and  Chincho,  as  well  as  by  Masanobu  and  his  son  Toshinobu,  and  by 
Shigenaga  and  Shigenobu.  The  colouring  of  the  beni-ye,  delicate  and 
attractive  in  choice  examples,  is  often  rather  gaudy,  and  the  sheen  of  the 
glue  applied  to  the  blocks  in  the  urushi-ye  is  not  always  happy  in  effect. 
But  at  its  best  this  phase  of  the  hand-coloured  print  has  a  glow  of  colouring 
which  is  peculiar  to  itself. 

The  range  of  Ukiyo-ye  is  still  decidedly  circumscribed.  But  we  note  the 
appearance  of  occasional  landscapes,  or  sets  of  landscape  prints — the  “  Four 
Seasons,"  or  the  u  Eight  Views  of  Omi  " — usually  on  small  upright  panels. 
These  are  truly  “  primitive  "  in  manner,  being  in  a  style  derived  from  the 

23 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


old  conventions  of  the  Tosa  school,  instead  of  the  vivid  and  summary 
synthesis  of  the  Chinese  manner.  The  appearance  of  things  is  registered 
in  symbol,  with  little  attempt  at  coherence  and  unity.  Dr.  Kurth,  in  his 
Japanische  Holzschrdtt  (p.  37),  reproduces  a  flower-and-bird  piece  by 
Shigenaga  which  is  certainly  in  the  Chinese  tradition  so  far  as  the  motive 
is  concerned ;  but  it  can  hardly  be  said  to  be  in  the  44  style  ”  either  of 
Chinese  paintings  or  of  Chinese  woodcut. 

The  print  by  Shigenaga  which  we  reproduce  represents  a  girl  carrying 
letters  to  sell.  Part  of  the  pattern  on  her  dress  is  formed  by  the  mon  of 
various  actors.  Among  these  are  the  mon  of  Ichikawa  Monnosuke  I,  who 
died  in  1729,  and  of  Otani  Hiroji  I,  who  came  to  Yedo  at  the  end  of  1727. 
We  can  therefore  assign  the  print  to  about  1728.  The  fashion  of  dressing 
the  hair  has  not  changed  greatly  from  that  of  the  end  of  Genroku,  but 
the  **  tail  ”  at  the  back  of  the  head  is  less  full  and  does  not  lie  so  low. 
During  the  succeeding  years  it  becomes  still  thinner,  in  a  shape  character¬ 
istic  of  many  of  the  prints  signed  Kiyonobu,  but  certainly  dating  from 
after  the  first  Kiyonobu's  death.  It  is  to  be  noted,  however,  that  in  their 
actor-prints  the  Torii  masters  clung  to  a  certain  convention  of  representing 
the  hair.  It  may  be  seen  in  Plate  22  (1)  which  dates  from  the  close  of 
1740,  and  is  also  found  in  the  later  two-colour  prints.  In  these  actor- 
prints,  therefore,  the  style  of  coiffure  is  no  guide  to  the  date. 

Shigenaga  during  the  first  Kiyonobu's  lifetime  rose  rapidly  to  the  front 
rank  of  Ukiyoye  artists.  There  is  something  personal  in  his  style,  which 
we  can  recognize  in  the  print  reproduced,  though  so  much  in  the  Masa- 
nobu  manner.  Some  of  the  finest  urushi-ye  are  by  his  hand.  And  he 
designed  some  of  the  earliest  ishi-zuri ,  or  stone-prints,  cut  on  wood  in 
imitation  of  the  rubbings  from  stone  of  which  the  Chinese  were  proud. 
Of  these  stone-prints  we  shall  have  more  to  say  later  on. 


24 


CHAPTER  III 

FEBRUARY  6th,  1730,  TO 
FEBRUARY  1st,  1764 


CHAPTER  III 


FEBRUARY  6th,  1730,  TO 
FEBRUARY  1st,  1764 

During  the  remainder  of  Kyoho  until  the  Kwampo  period  (February  5th, 
1741,  to  February  2nd,  1743),  the  hand-coloured  print  reigned  supreme. 
The  high  standard  of  excellence  in  design  that  had  marked  the  earlier 
productions  was  maintained ;  and,  except  the  first  Torii  Kiyonobu, 
Kwaigetsudo,  and  one  or  two  minor  artists,  the  same  men  were  at  work. 
The  softening  influence  of  Sukenobu  became  more  accentuated,  the  virile 
brush-work  of  the  sign-boards  giving  place  to  a  tenderness  of  drawing 
almost  bordering  on  effeminacy  even  when  the  subjects  were  of  a  theatrical 
character.  From  the  commencement  of  1739,  Okumura  Masanobu  used 
for  the  first  time  the  do-go  of  Hogetsudo,  with  or  without  the  go  Bunkaku 
and  Bai-o,  all  of  which  had  been  bestowed  upon  him  by  his  haikai  (seven¬ 
teen-syllable  poem)  master  Shogetsudo  Fukaku  Sen-o  (1662-1753).  This 
forms  a  useful  landmark  in  determining  the  dates  of  his  work  about  this 
time.  He  also  dropped  the  name  of  Shinmyo  and  adopted  that  of 
Tanchosai.  At  the  close  of  1740,  he  originated  Uki-ye  or  floating  pictures 
— large  oblong  hand-coloured  prints  ranging  in  size  from  17!  x  25!  in.  to 
i2\  x  17!  in.  The  native  term  for  these  prints  is  yen-kin  or  “  far  and  near." 
The  hand-colouring  comprises  vermilion,  tan,  yellow,  blue,  purple,  olive- 
green,  dark  red,  and  brown.  They  mostly  represent  interiors  with  the 
fusuma  and  shoji  thrown  open.  The  subjects  include  scenes  from  plays, 
such  as  “  Yaoya  O-Shichi,"  “  Soga,"  **  Taiheiki,"  or  u  Dojoji " ;  the 
middle  street  of  the  Shin  Yoshiwara  (exterior  view) ;  apartments  of  a 
courtesan  or  of  a  nobleman ;  the  Mitsui  silk  emporium,  and  such-like. 
These  Uki-ye  continued  in  favour  for  about  four  or  five  years,  the 
principal  artists  besides  Masanobu  being  Shigenaga,  Kiyotada,  Moromasa, 
Tanaka  Masunobu,  and  Jogetsudo. 

Tanaka  Masunobu  appears  to  have  been  a  pupil  of  Shigenaga  about  1735. 
He  used  the  do- go  of  Sanseido,  and  continued  at  work  till  about  1771, 
later  coming  under  the  influence  of  Harunobu.  There  is  an  example  from 
his  brush  of  Shiro-nuki-ye,  or  **  pictures  picked  out  in  white,"  which  is 
reproduced  in  the  1902  Hayashi  catalogue,  Lot  291.  Another,  a  two- 
colour  print  of  his,  dated  1746,  is  recorded  in  the  same  catalogue. 

During  the  first  year  of  Kwampo  (1741), 1  prints  coloured  from  two  wood- 

1  A  beni-ye  actor  print  by  Kiyomasu  in  the  Howard  Mansfield  collection  has  been 
dated  by  Gookin  the  autumn  of  1741,  and  he  thinks  it  can  hardly  have  been  the  first 
published. 


27 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


blocks  in  rose  and  green  made  their  first  appearance,  from  which  it  would 
seem  that  the  invention  of  printing  ichimai-ye  in  colours  from  wood-blocks 
took  place  some  time  in  the  previous  year.  The  writer  Fujikake,  in  his 
work  Ukiyoye  hangwa  shi ,  expresses  the  opinion  that  the  Ichiwa-ichigen 
is  correct  in  attributing  the  invention  to  the  Yedo  publisher  Kamimura 
Kichiyemon.  This  book  records  that  **  in  the  first  year  of  Yenkyo  (1744), 
Yemi-ya  Kamimura  Kichiyemon,  inventing  a  guide-mark  ( kento )  which 
is  now  known  as  the  Kamimura  kento ,  produced  the  first  colour-block 
pictures  ( shiki-sai  han-gwa ).”  The  guide-mark  referred  to  was  a  right 
angle  at  the  right  bottom  corner  and  a  straight  line  corresponding  to  its 
lower  edge  at  the  left  bottom  corner  of  the  key-block,  similar  marks  being 
made  on  the  blocks  to  receive  the  colours ;  so  that,  by  adjusting  the 
bottom  edge  of  the  sheet  to  be  printed  on  these  marks,  accuracy  in  register 
was  secured.  It  may  be  true  that  Kamimura  was  the  inventor,  though 
the  date  given  is  later  than  some  dated  prints  testify  to. 

It  has  been  a  matter  for  surprise  that  colour-prints  from  wood-blocks 
did  not  appear  before  this,  since  Chinese  coloured  woodcuts  were  made 
at  least  more  than  half  a  century  previously,  and  were  doubtless  well 
known  in  Japan.  According  to  the  testimony  of  Mr.  T.  Urushiyama,  as 
published  in  an  article  that  appeared  in  the  Ukiyoye  Magazine ,  No.  13, 
of  June  1  st,  1916,  the  idea  had  occurred  and  been  put  into  practice  some 
thirteen  years  before.  This  gentleman,  after  reviewing  and  criticising 
Hokkyo  Oneisai's  colour-book  Kyd-chu  zu  of  1750-1751,  Sekkosai  Toki- 
nobu's  Saishiki  gwasen  of  1767,  and  Tachibana  Minkd's  Shokunin  burui  of 
1771,  as  not  being  strictly  coloured  woodcuts,  writes  as  follows  :  “  But 
the  two-volume  book,  Chichi-no-on  (compiled  by  Danjuro  II),  published 
in  the  15th  year  of  Kyoho  (1730),  on  the  occasion  of  a  requiem  mass  for 
Ichikawa  Danjuro  (the  first),  contains  sixty-six  uncoloured  cuts  by  Hana- 
busa  Ippo  (1697-1760),  and  two  pages  with  four  coloured  woodcuts  that 
are  sealed  *  Kwan  ' — doubtless  an  abbreviation  of  Ukwansai,  one  of  the 
go  of  Ogawa  Haritsu  (1661-1747,  a  Yedo  painter).  I  have  personally 
inspected  these  latter,  and  declare  without  hesitation  that  they  are  genuine 
coloured  woodcuts  very  skilfully  done,  and  in  no  way  resemble  the 
gradation  colouring  of  the  above-mentioned  Saishiki  gwasen  .” 

Not  having  seen  the  book  in  question,  we  are  unable  to  confirm  this 
statement,  which  has  the  appearance  nevertheless  of  a  well-considered 
judgment.  Mr.  Urushiyama  does  not  state  what  colours  were  employed, 
nor  does  he  express  an  opinion  as  to  how  the  register  was  maintained. 
Perhaps  the  reason  why  so  apparently  a  successful  experiment  was  not 

28 


FROM  1/730  TO  1764 

applied  to  printing  ichimai-ye  of  that  time  in  colours  was  that  the  cost  of 
extra  blocks  would  not,  in  view  of  the  paucity  of  purchasers,  have  made 
the  process  profitable.  In  Baka-gatari  we  are  told  that  “  at  the  end  of 
Kyoho  (1735-1736),  in  the  collection  Chichi- no -on,  by  Ichikawa  Hakuyen 
(Danjuro  II),  on  the  occasion  of  the  requiem  of  his  father  Saigyu  (Dan- 
juro  I),  three  verses  by  Saigyu  are  illustrated  by  means  of  colour-printing 
( iro-zuri )  by  Katsuma  Ryusui.”  This  appears  to  have  been  a  re-publication 
of  the  original  book. 

Colour-block  printing  almost,  but  not  quite,  displaced  the  urushi-ye;  there 
are  still  in  existence  some  of  these,  one  of  which,  by  Kiyomasu,  repre¬ 
sents  Nakamura  Kumetaro  and  Ichimura  Kamezo — the  former  not  having 
appeared  on  the  Yedo  stage  till  the  close  of  1748.  There  are  at  least  two 
colour-prints  which  are  dated  1743,  and  others  which  may  be  so  dated 
from  the  stage  records,  all  after  designs  by  Kiyomasu  or  Shigenaga  ;  so 
that  no  particular  artist  can  be  said  to  have  been  the  first  to  design  for  the 
new  technique.  It  is  unfortunate  that  the  term  beni-ye,  which,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  used  to  describe  the  hand-coloured  prints  at  the  beginning  of 
Kyoho  (1716),  is  also  applied  to  prints  coloured  from  wood-blocks,  a  more 
appropriate  name  for  which  would  be  beni-zuri-ye  or  44  beni-printed 
pictures  ”  ;  and  this  term  is  often  used  by  modern  native  writers. 

A  modification  of  beni-zuri-ye  is  to  be  found  in  kusa-zuri-ye  or  “  grass 
(colour)  printed  pictures,”  in  which  kusa  or  grass-green  and  yellow  were 
used.  They  are  rarely  seen.  One  by  Kiyomasu  of  Ichimura  Kamezo  as 
Inu  no  Hayata  may  be  dated  from  the  stage  records  December,  1747. 
Shigenaga  and  Tomikawa  Fusanobu  sometimes  used  this  technique. 
They  are  referred  to  in  some  books  as  rokushd-ye  or  **  verdigris  pictures.” 
They  are  less  effective  than  the  beni  and  green  prints. 

When  Shigenobu  changed  his  name  to  Toyonobu  has  not  yet  been  as¬ 
certained.  As  a  tentative  date,  pending  further  research,  1744  is  suggested. 

He  made  several  wide  and  also  narrow  Hashira-ye  (of  which  format 
Okumura  Masanobu  was  the  originator),  coloured  by  hand  and  dating 
from  about  this  year.  The  dimensions  of  the  hashira-ye  varied  from  about 
27  x  12  to  28  x  9  in.  in  height  and  width  respectively.  Later  a  similar 
format  called  hashira-kakushi-no-ye  or  44  pillar-hiding  pictures,”  otherwise 
known  as  hashira-kake  or  44  pillar-hanging  pictures,”  measuring  about 
27  in.  high  by  4  or  5  in.  wide,  came  into  vogue.  Koryusai  especially  made 
use  of  this  shape. 

Nishimura  Magosaburo  Shigenobu  does  not  appear  to  have  designed 
beni-zuri-ye,  though  there  are  several  by  him  under  his  later  name  of 

29 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


Tanjodo  (which  some  read  as  Meijodo)  Ishikawa  Shuha  Toyonobu. 
There  are  also  a  few  by  Toshinobu,  who  was  certainly  living  in  1749, 
as  a  book  illustrated  by  Kwakugetsudo  Okumura  Bunzen  Toshinobu 
entitled  Protection  against  Small-pox  ( hoso-jo )  was  published  in  that  year. 
Several  new  artists  appeared  in  Gembun,  Yenkyo,  and  Kwanyen  periods 
(i.e.  from  1736  to  1750),  namely  Tomikawa  Fusanobu,  Okumura  Masafusa, 
Shimizu  Genshiro,  Yamamoto  Yoshinobu,  Mangetsudo,  Yengetsudo, 
Kogetsudo,  Jogetsudo,  and  other  minor  men. 

Fusanobu  was  a  wholesale  publisher  of  prints  and  illustrated  books  in 
Odemma-cho,  Yedo.  He  became  bankrupt  during  Gembun,  and  took  up 
print- designing.  His  ordinary  name  was  Yamamoto  Kuzayemon.  He  is 
said  to  have  received  instruction  from  Shigenaga.  His  work  extends  up 
to  about  1763.  During  the  Horeki  period  he  took  the  name  of  Ginsetsu. 
About  eight  prints  in  all  comprise  his  output. 

Masafusa,  also  called  Bunshi,  was  a  pupil  of  Masanobu.  He  appears  to 
have  worked  in  the  provinces.  One  hand-coloured  print,  and  an  illus¬ 
trated  book  dated  1747  are  all  that  is  so  far  known  of  his  work. 

Shimizu  Genshiro,  by  whom  but  one  colour-print  has  been  so  far  re¬ 
corded,  worked  at  Yedo.  He  may  have  been  a  pupil  of  Shimizu  Mitsunobu, 
who  was  still  active  at  this  time  and  continued  at  work  till  about  1769. 

Yamamoto  Yoshinobu,  common  name  Heishichiro,  chiefly  illustrated 
theatrical  play- books  during  Kwanyen  and  Horeki.  He  made  a  few  beni- 
zuri-ye .  Working  about  the  same  time  and  much  in  the  same  style 
were  Yamamato  Fujinobu  and  Amano  Toyonaga.  Yamamoto  Shigeharu1 
was  still  at  work  during  Kwampo.  Very  few  prints  are  known  by  these 
artists,  and  no  details  are  available  as  to  their  schooling.  There  is  at  least 
one  urushi-ye  by  Yasukawa  Shigetoshi,  who  flourished  during  Gembun 
and  Kwampo,  but  of  whom  nothing  is  known. 

Mangetsudo,  Yengetsudo,  Kogetsudo,  and  Jogetsudo  are  all  unrecorded 
in  the  old  biographies.  Judging  from  their  do- go,  they  were  pupils  of 
Hogetsudo  (Okumura  Masanobu),  whose  style  they  followed  so  closely  that 
at  times  one  could  not,  except  from  the  signatures,  distinguish  their  work 
from  his.  Prints  dated  1747  by  Mangetsudo  and  Jogetsudo  are  known. 

During  the  Gembun  period,  Torii  Kiyohiro,  a  pupil  of  Kiyomasu, 
made  his  debut — a  book  illustrated  by  him  bearing  the  date  of  1737.  He 
made  a  few  urushi-ye  and  hand-coloured  prints — but  most  of  his  designs 
were  colour-block  printed.  He  was  one  of  the  chief  artists  of  the 
Horeki  period.  His  death  occurred  in  1776.  His  birth-date  is  unknown. 

1  See  also  p.  18. 

30 


FROM  1730  TO  1764 

The  Horeki  period  produced  Torii  Kiyomitsu  I  and  Seigyu  Kyochin. 
Kiyomitsu  was  Kiyomasu's  second  son,  born  in  1735 ;  common  name, 
Kamejird.  He  was  a  prolific  artist,  his  style  being  a  combination  of  that 
of  his  father  and  Ishikawa  Toyonobu.  He  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  to 
have  used  a  third  colour-block,  but  this  is  extremely  doubtful. 

The  third  colour-block  dates  from  about  1754-5 — black,  blue,  yellow, 
Indian  red,  grey  in  varying  tints  being  employed. 

Tints  were  also  produced  by  over-printing,  such  as  grey  over  yellow  to 
produce  a  warm  green,  blue  over  beni  to  produce  a  purple,  and  so  on. 

On  the  retirement  or  death  of  Kiyomasu,  he  succeeded  as  the  third 
Torii,  and  died  on  May  11,  1785;  posthumous  name,  Kwozenin  Yddd 
Nittatsu  (Nichidd  is  an  erroneous  reading). 

Inouye  (op.  cit.  Note  B)  thinks  Kiyohide  was  Kiyomitsu's  eldest  son, 
born  c.  1757;  died  Anyei  1,  12  mo.,  6  day  (Dec.  29,  1772)  aged  c.  16; 
posthumous  name,  Gigakuin  Jogen  Nippo. 

Kyochin's  work  consists  of  but  one  hashira-ye — an  excellent  portrait  of 
the  celebrated  professional  story-teller  and  diviner  Fukai  Shidoken.  This 
artist  is  recorded  in  the  Kogwa  Biko  only,  as  having  painted  courtesans  as 
bijin  in  the  Okumura  manner.  Possibly  he  was  a  pupil  of  Masanobu,  who 
also  made  two  hashira-ye  of  Shidoken;  Mangetsudo  and  Ishikawa  Toyo¬ 
nobu  each  drew  his  portrait,  the  former  dated  1747.  The  following  short 
account  of  Shidoken  is  compiled  from  various  native  sources. 

Fukai  Shidoken  was  born  at  Kyoto  in  1682,  the  son  of  a  prosperous  farmer . 
At  the  age  of  twelve,  he  entered  a  Buddhist  monastery  to  study  for  the  priest¬ 
hood.  Here  he  made  such  extraordinary  progress  in  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures 
that  his  superiors  predicted  a  great  career  for  him  as  a  preacher  and  expounder 
of  Buddhist  doctrines.  He  was  given  charge  of  the  novices  ;  but  having  been 
detected  in  grossly  immoral  relations  with  some  of  them  he  was  expelled  as  an 
apostate.  After  a  number  of  years,  during  which  he  lived  from  hand  to  mouth, 
he  eventually  reached  Yedo,  where  he  eked  out  an  existence  as  a  writer  of 
tales  of  revenge  and  love-stories  which  he  loaned  out  to  impressionable  youths 
and  girls,  spending  his  earnings  in  drink  and  debauchery.  One  day,  as  he  was 
engaged  in  watching  crowds  of  worshippers  entering  and  leaving  the  Kwannon 
temple  at  Asakusa,  it  occurred  to  him  that  he  might  turn  such  fervour  to  his 
own  profit  by  preaching  popular  Buddhism  intermingled  with  pleasantries  and 
heroic  deeds.  His  success  was  immediate  ;  and  he  had  but  to  raise  his  voice 
to  draw  crowds  around  his  “  pitch  ”  under  a  large  tree  at  a  cross-road  in 
Asakusa  Park.  Despite  his  ugly  exterior,  his  powers  of  oratory  and  mimicry 
of  the  female  voice  so  raised  his  fame  that  he  rivalled  Hakuyen  ( the  2nd 


3i 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


Ichikawa  Danjuro )  in  public  favour  ;  and ,  on  the  death  of  the  latter  in  1758, 
he  became  the  sole  idol  of  the  Yedo  people .  Hz's  jests,  largely  interlarded 
with  obscenities  which  he  emphasized  with  his  infamous  u  matsudake  ” — an 
emblem  of  phallic  significance — were  received  with  loud  guffaws  accompanied 
by  side-splitting  laughter .  Having  amassed  sufficient  capital,  he  built  and 
opened  a  booth,  where  he  supplied  his  patrons  with  food  and  drink,  and  where 
they  were  accommodated  on  roomy  benches .  (In  Toyonobu’s  print — a  yoko 
beni-ye — he  is  shown  seated  therein  surrounded  by  persons  of  both  sexes  ; 
hanging  on  the  wall  is  one  of  the  nostrums  for  the  cure  of  ailments,  especially 
those  of  women .  Probably  owing  to  their  presence,  he  has  the  decency  to  hide 
his  matsudake  up  his  left  sleeve.)  There  he  also  sold  love-philters  and  horo¬ 
scopes,  and  in  fact  all  the  usual  **  catch-pennies  ”  of  the  mountebank.  He 
died  in  1765,  at  the  age  of  eighty-five  in  the  odour  of  sanctity,  receiving 
interment  at  the  hands  of  those  very  men  at  whose  religion  he  used  to  deride. 
As  a  raconteur,  Shidoken  is  said  to  have  had  no  equal. 

Katsu  Shunsui  was  at  work  during  Kwampo.  He  was  a  pupil  of  Miyagawa 
Choshun  (1682-1752),  and  first  called  himself  Katsu  Miyagawa,  after¬ 
wards  dropping  the  latter.  He  made  a  few  beni-zuri-ye  during  Horeki,  and 
was  the  teacher  of  Katsukawa  Shunshd.  Harunobu,  Kiyonaga,  and  Seki- 
yen  (the  latter  as  a  painter  only)  appeared  towards  the  close  of  Horeki. 
They  will  be  referred  to  at  length  in  the  next  chapter. 

The  period  now  entered,  somewhat  stationary  in  its  art  at  first,  had 
become  brilliant  before  the  close  in  its  profuse  and  rich  expansion.  If  it  was 
notable  above  all  for  the  invention  of  the  two-colour  print,  it  was  hardly 
less  important  for  the  wealth  of  new  talent  disclosed,  for  the  exploitation 
of  new  subject-matter  and  the  discovery  of  new  motives,  and  for  the 
splendid  series  of  designs  by  Okumura  Masanobu. 

For  it  was  Masanobu  who  was  now  the  indisputable  leader.  The  Torii 
line  was  to  be  strengthened  by  two  distinguished  young  artists,  Kiyohiro 
and  Kiyomitsu ;  but  it  was  Masanobu  rather  than  the  veteran  Kiyomasu 
to  whom  they  looked,  and  on  whom  they  modelled  their  style.  Kiyomasu 
continued  to  produce  good  work  down  to  his  retirement,  changing  with 
each  change  of  style  that  came  over  Ukiyo-ye.  But  he  had  lost  much  of 
the  fire  and  force  of  his  youth.  He  kept  in  the  front,  but  he  broke  no  new 
ground.  Whether  the  hypothesis  suggested  in  this  book,  that  the  prints 
signed  Kiyonobu  were,  after  1727,  the  work  of  Kiyomasu,  be  adopted 
or  not,  makes  no  difference  to  our  estimate  of  the  prints  themselves. 
This  hypothesis,  though  admittedly  involving  something  entirely  excep- 

32 


FROM  1730  TO  1764 

tional — the  simultaneous  use  of  two  signatures  by  a  single  artist — does 
explain  what  no  other  solution  of  the  difficulty  explains  ;  and  that  is,  the 
extreme  closeness  of  style  in  the  parallel  series  of  prints  bearing  the  two 
signatures  after  1727.  During  the  earlier  part  of  Kyoho,  Kiyonobu  and 
Kiyomasu  were  hardly  distinguishable  apart ;  after  1727  it  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  the  prints  bearing  the  two  signatures  are  indistinguish¬ 
able.  For  practical  purposes,  therefore — whatever  theory  be  held — it  is 
only  one  master  of  whom  we  have  to  take  account.  A  few  years  ago  it 
was  generally  held  that  Kiyonobu  II  was  Torii  Shiro,  who  was  assumed  to 
have  designed  only  two-colour  prints,  or  a  few  hand-coloured  prints  at 
most.  But  it  is  now  certain  that  many,  if  not  most,  of  the  hand-coloured 
prints  signed  Kiyonobu  date  from  after  1727.  The  series  is  continuous, 
and  it  is  exactly  paralleled  on  the  prints  signed  Kiyomasu. 

It  is  conceivable  that  if  the  woodcut  had  been  wholly  in  the  hands  of  the 
conservative  Torii,  it  might  have  degenerated  into  a  fixed  tradition,  all 
repetition  and  no  expansion,  as  folk-arts  have  so  often  done  in  other 
countries  of  the  world.  But  Ukiyo-ye  was  destined  to  a  far  different  fate. 
It  was  to  be  alive,  intensely  alive,  alternately  expanding  and  concentrating, 
perpetually  sensitive  to  change,  for  many  a  decade  to  come.  And  this 
could  not  have  happened  had  it  not  attracted  to  itself  generation  after 
generation  of  admirable  designers,  among  whom  were  masters  who  rank 
with  the  great  artists  of  the  world.  And  the  emulation  among  these  was  a 
continual  spur  to  effort. 

To  Okumura  Masanobu  Ukiyo-ye  owed  enormously.  The  period  of 
which  we  are  now  treating  witnessed  the  gradual  ripening  of  his  genius, 
which,  unlike  that  of  many  of  the  other  great  masters  of  the  colour-print, 
gave  no  signs  of  flagging  and  exhaustion  even  at  the  end  of  his  career.  It 
was  after  his  assumption  of  the  name  Hogetsudo  in  1739  that  his  powers 
seem  to  have  come  to  full  fruition.  From  1740  to  1750  is  a  decade  brilliant 
with  many  masterpieces. 

According  to  Fenollosa,  Masanobu,  during  most  of  Kyoho  period,  devoted 
himself  to  painting  and  produced  very  few  prints.  In  any  case  it  is  certain 
that,  so  far  as  prints  are  concerned,  this  last  stage  of  his  career  is  at  once 
the  most  fertile  and  the  most  splendid. 

It  might  have  been  thought  that  the  hand-coloured  woodcut  would  have 
been  exhausted  as  a  type  of  popular  print  by  the  time  of  Kiyonobu’s  death. 
But  many  of  the  finest  of  the  hand-coloured  prints  were  still  to  be  produced. 

Mention  has  been  made  above  of  some  shiro-nuki-ye,  or  u  white-line  ” 
prints,  designed  by  Tanaka  Masunobu.  One  example,  at  least,  is  known. 

33 


D 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


Another  example  of  this  type  of  print,  one  of  several  by  Okumura  Masa- 
nobu,  is  reproduced  in  the  Paris  VJ .  Catalogue ,  Plate  XXIV*  It 
represents  the  poet  Narihira  riding  across  a  bridge*  The  bridge,  the 
river-banks,  and  the  distant  hills  are  designed  in  white  against  the  black 
of  the  water  and  the  sky.  Tanaka  Masunobu's  print,  of  a  poet  seated  in 
reverie  looking  out  on  Mount  Ogura,  is  also  designed  in  white  on  black. 

These  prints,  which  suggest  Chinese  influence  in  their  technique,  are 
exceptional.  It  may  be  thought  rather  surprising  that  the  resources  of  the 
“  white-line,"  which  in  Europe  have  immensely  enriched  the  wood- 
engraver's  art,  were  not  more  explored  by  the  Ukiyoye  artists  during  the 
long  period  before  the  adoption  of  colour-printing.  But  it  must  be 
remembered,  first,  that  the  effects  of  chiaroscuro  and  atmosphere,  the 
defining  of  shapes  by  means  of  light  instead  of  by  a  drawn  contour,  and 
the  whole  conception  of  picture-making  which  has  become  a  second 
nature  to  European  artists,  were  alien  to  Japanese  tradition.  And, 
secondly,  the  kind  of  subjects  which  would  best  admit  the  happy  use  of 
white  lines  and  **  reserves,"  such  as  the  subject  of  Masanobu's  print,  just 
described,  were  out  of  the  recognised  province  of  Ukiyo-ye.  The  white 
line  was  employed  in  the  patterns  of  dresses  with  felicitous  effect ;  we 
noted  in  the  last  chapter  Kiyonobu's  tracing  of  white  characters  of  Japanese 
writing  on  the  black  portions  of  a  dress,  and  we  find  this  same  use  in 
prints  by  Masanobu,  who  will  also  lighten  solid  black  by  a  delicately 
incised  floral  motive. 

In  general  we  may  say  that  up  to  the  year  1741  the  resources  of  the 
woodcut,  within  the  limitations  of  Japanese  convention,  were  used  to  the 
full.  But  now  it  was  more  in  the  direction  of  new  motives  that  the  artist’s 
curiosity  was  active. 

It  may  be  that  the  decade  1730-1740  has  not  much  to  show  of  stir  or 
change.  Certainly  the  work  of  Kiyomasu  seems  to  continue  in  much  the 
same  course  as  before. 

We  reproduce  a  print  by  Kiyomasu  of  the  actor  Segawa  Kikujiro  who 
came  to  Yedo  in  December  1731.  It  must,  therefore,  date  from  after  that 
year.  But  it  must  be  nearer  1740  than  1731,  because  it  already  shows  the 
type  of  face,  with  the  curiously  swollen  cheek,  which  is  typical  of 
Kiyomasu's  early  two-colour  prints  of  about  1743.  It  is  quieter  in  line 
than  the  earlier  Torii  work.  It  can  in  fact  be  dated  at  the  close  of  1740. 

At  the  same  time  as  this  Masanobu  was  putting  forth  his  full  powers, 
and  leaving  the  Torii  master  far  behind.  In  the  new  large  uki-ye  he  was 
designing  spacious  compositions,  such  as  had  not  been  essayed  since 

34 


FROM  1730  TO  1764 

Moronobu,  with  European  perspective  more  or  less  successfully  intro¬ 
duced.  It  was  the  beginning  of  that  picturing  of  the  life  of  the  Yedo 
streets  and  the  interior  of  Yedo  houses  and  the  Yedo  theatre,  which  was 
to  yield  so  rich  material  to  later  artists.  Shigenaga  designed  uki-ye,  but 
in  the  art  of  composing  in  depth,  and  in  the  grouping  of  figures,  he  was 
less  happy  than  Masanobu.  A  very  large  print  of  an  interior  by  Torii 
Kiyotada  is  one  of  that  rare  artist’s  most  important  works.  A  copy  is  in 
the  British  Museum  collection. 

But  from  the  aesthetic  point  of  view  these  prints,  though  of  great  value  in 
enlarging  the  range  of  Ukiyo-ye,  are  not  to  be  compared  with  Masanobu’s 
magnificent  hashira-ye  produced  about  1740  and  in  the  following  years ; 
overlapping,  no  doubt,  the  two-coloured  prints  in  point  of  time.  A  number 
of  these  rare  and  treasured  works  are  reproduced  in  the  Paris  V.I.  Cata¬ 
logue .  One  of  these  bears  an  inscription  in  which  Masanobu  calls  himself 
the  originator  of  the  hashira-ye .  This  is  one  of  his  most  splendid  designs. 
It  is  the  whole-length  portrait  of  a  youth  holding  a  half-closed  umbrella. 
The  figure  is  superbly  placed  on  the  page.  It  is  as  imposing  as  a  Kwai- 
getsudo,  but  how  much  more  intimate  and  alive  !  The  contours  are 
sensitive  of  living  shape  ;  they  are  not  merely  related  to  the  form,  as  in 
earlier  more  caligraphic  work,  they  are  the  form,  though  they  contain  it 
in  a  design  so  ordered  that  it  appeals  to  the  senses  like  an  air  of  music. 
Masanobu  is  the  first  great  master  of  that  supreme  achievement  of  the 
Japanese  colour-print,  as  handled  later  by  Harunobu  and  Utamaro ;  he 
knows  how  to  seize  the  beauty  of  natural  attitude  and  movement  in  the 
human  body,  and  to  fuse  that  charm  with  the  beauty  of  a  design  which 
simply  as  related  lines  and  masses  enchants  our  sense  of  rhythm.  In  this 
print,  though  the  figure  itself,  in  its  felicity  of  poise  and  movement  and 
placing  within  the  frame,  makes  the  essential  and  dominant  interest,  look 
with  what  luxury  of  pattern  he  enriches  the  young  man's  dress,  with  its 
opposition  of  stripes  and  small  checks,  its  squares  of  design  on  which  we 
catch  glimpses  of  blossoming  sprays  and  tendrils,  and  even  horses  at  their 
gambols  by  a  stream  ;  such  a  wealth  of  seemingly  incongruous  motives  as  a 
lesser  master  would  never  have  attempted,  or,  if  he  had,  would  have  failed 
to  subordinate  to  the  whole  form.  This  sort  of  irrepressible  flowering  of 
fancy  into  pattern,  as  if  he  wanted  to  associate  his  gracious  human  forms 
with  memories  of  the  beauty  springing  in  the  fields,  hints  of  blowing 
wind  and  sunshine,  is  characteristic  of  Masanobu’s  work  of  this  time, 
and  gives  an  extraordinary  richness  of  sap  and  life  to  the  surface  of  his 
designs. 


35 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


A  gradual  change  from  massiveness  to  slenderer  forms  is  now  perceptible  ; 
and  the  type  of  face  becomes  both  sweeter  and  more  expressive.  The 
influence  of  Sukenobu  can  be  noted  ;  but  Masanobu  absorbs  this  and  makes 
it  his  own,  uniting  the  sweetness  and  sensitive  delicacy  with  a  larger  scale 
and  a  certain  grandeur  of  outline.  In  the  years  from  1740  to  1750  Masa¬ 
nobu  evolves  a  feminine  type  which,  in  combined  sweetness  and  dignity, 
is  unsurpassed  in  all  Ukiyo-ye,  even  by  Kiyonaga  in  his  prime.  But 
though  this  is  a  main  attraction  in  these  prints,  it  is  necessary  to  emphasize 
the  point  that  where  Masanobu  excels  all  his  contemporaries  and  prede¬ 
cessors,  with  the  possible  exception  of  Moronobu,  is  in  the  art  of  figure- 
design.  It  is  not  only  that  his  figures  are  drawn  with  singular  grace  and 
vigour ;  here  he  is  rivalled  by  Kiyonobu  and  Kiyomasu  at  their  best,  as  by 
Kwaigetsudo  ;  but  the  spacing  of  the  design,  even  when  it  is  only  a  single 
figure,  contents  and  charms  the  eye.  Look  at  the  hashira-ye  of  a  girl 
holding  an  umbrella  on  her  shoulder  and  looking  down  ;  it  is  reproduced 
in  the  Paris  V.L  Catalogue  (Plate  XXXIV,  No.  129).  Everything  here  is 
inevitable .  What  is  the  secret  which  can  make  of  the  straight  fall  of  that 
long  fold  of  the  dress  something  that  enchants  and  thrills  i  Here  again 
the  dress  is  subdivided  into  small  panels  of  pattern,  alternating  dark  and 
light  tones,  geometrical  and  natural  motives  of  design.  This  is  one  of 
Masanobu's  most  splendid  creations.  But  still  more  is  Masanobu's  gift 
revealed  in  the  relating  of  two  figures,  as  in  the  well-known  print  of  a  girl 
giving  a  love-letter  to  her  little  maid,  where  we  feel  the  touch  of  the  girl's 
hand  on  the  child's  shoulder  and  all  the  confidingness  of  its  pressure,  as 
the  two  come  so  close  together  for  the  whispered  instructions.  Harunobu 
will  use  this  design  later,  but  will  not  surpass  it  for  charm  of  naturalness 
and  intimate  feeling. 

At  last  in  1741  comes  the  two-colour  print.  And  with  that  invention 
comes  a  sudden  change.  Perhaps  it  was  felt  that  in  a  large  and  open  type 
of  design  the  green  and  rose-pink  which  had  been  adopted  as  the  choice 
of  opposed  colours  would  have  a  garish  or  flat  effect ;  perhaps  the  fashion 
of  the  day,  which  happened  to  prescribe  small  patterns  for  the  dresses, 
also  contributed  its  influence.  In  any  case,  we  find  Masanobu,  and  all  his 
contemporaries  with  him,  turning  to  a  smaller,  slenderer  type  of  figure, 
with  delicate  patterns  in  which  small  checks  are  a  favourite  feature.  If 
there  is  a  decided  loss  of  boldness  and  vigour,  as  compared  with  the  earlier 
hand -coloured  prints,  there  is  no  question  of  the  felicity  in  the  decorative 
use  of  the  rose  and  green,  combined  with  black  and  white.  For  a  time 

36 


FROM  1730  TO  1764 

the  research  for  elegance  and  delicacy  above  everything  becomes  a  passion. 
Shigenaga  especially  develops  in  this  phase  an  almost  morbid  refinement, 
accentuated  by  a  love  of  strangely  serpentining  lines,  which  are  now  cut 
to  the  utmost  possible  thinness  as  if  traced  by  a  fine  and  even  pen  rather 
than  by  the  brush.  This  phase,  in  which  Masanobu  participates,  seems  to 
culminate  about  1747,  to  which  year  we  can  assign  certain  prints  by 
Shigenaga  with  a  calendar  introduced  into  them,  and  other  prints  of 
actors. 

Actor-prints  of  this  same  time,  signed  by  Kiyomasu  and  by  Kiyonobu, 
are  less  exquisite  in  delicacy  of  drawing,  but  show  the  same  characteristics 
and  the  same  small  patterns  on  the  dresses.  These  are  so  identical  in 
style  that,  were  it  not  for  the  different  signature,  no  one  would  dream  of 
doubting  that  the  same  hand  had  designed  them  both. 

The  two-colour  print  reproduced  in  colour  (PI.  1)  has  been  chosen  as  a 
particularly  happy  example  of  the  type,  and  also  because  of  its  exceptional 
state  of  preservation.  In  scarcely  any  surviving  print  has  the  beni  not 
faded  ;  but  in  this  example  the  colour  can  scarcely  have  changed  since  it 
was  printed.  It  is  part  of  a  triptych,  cut  on  a  single  block,  but  the  single 
sheet  suffers  nothing  by  separation.  Though  not  by  Masanobu  himself, 
it  shows  how  closely  and  successfully  his  pupil  Mangetsudo  modelled  his 
work  upon  his  master's.  The  impression  of  colour  is  so  lively  and  radiant 
that  one  quite  forgets  that  only  two  tints  have  been  used.  But  then  how 
cunningly  the  black  and  the  white  interplay  with  rose  and  green,  each 
enhancing  the  other  !  These  two-colour  prints  are  indeed  an  inexhaustible 
study  for  the  designer,  in  the  infinite  variations  they  play  upon  the  simple 
themes. 

Of  Masanobu's  masterpieces  in  two-colour  design  one  might  single  out 
for  special  beauty  the  lovely  print  (reproduced  in  the  Hayashi  catalogue, 
No.  282)  of  the  young  couple  walking  under  one  umbrella,  each  with 
one  hand  on  the  handle  of  it.  How  charmingly  the  two  forms  are  brought 
together  !  This  print  belongs  to  the  time  of  the  small  patterns ;  one  dress 
is  all  covered  with  little  checks,  the  other  has  a  pattern  of  bamboos  in 
snow.  Or,  in  the  larger  style,  we  might  instance  the  well-known  print 
of  the  two  geisha  going  to  the  play,  attended  by  a  boy  who  carries  a 
samisen  in  a  box — a  group  which  for  sweet  movement  and  grace  of  natural 
grouping  is  not  surpassed  in  all  Ukiyo-ye. 

But,  as  the  years  pass,  new  masters  arise  and  challenge  Masanobu's 
supremacy,  though  never  deposing  him.  In  fact,  these  younger  spirits 
were  no  doubt  glad  to  follow  where  he  led.  Once  again  it  is  the  turn  of 

37 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


the  Torii.  First  Kiyohiro  and  a  little  later  Kiyomitsu  come  into  the  field 
and  are  soon  prominent  in  the  first  rank  of  Ukiyo-ye.  But  before  them 
comes  Shigenobu,  reappearing  under  his  new  name  of  Toyonobu,  and 
bringing  to  the  new  colour- prints  a  power  and  distinction  for  which  his 
youthful  hand-coloured  designs  had  hardly  prepared  us. 

This  is  a  constant  phenomenon  in  Ukiyo-ye ;  the  signal  example  being 
Harunobu,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  next  chapter.  Toyonobu  is  especially 
famous  for  his  nudes,  so  rare  in  Japanese  art ;  and  indeed  they  have  an 
exquisiteness  that  reminds  one  of  a  Venus  by  Lucas  Cranach,  but  with  an 
even  greater  emphasis  on  the  slimness  and  pliancy  of  youthful  limbs,  as 
they  step  from  the  bath  with  bending  head  and  with  hands  that  gather 
round  them  the  folds  of  a  flowered  wrapper.  Toyonobu's  faces  have  often 
more  animation  than  is  usually  indulged  in  by  Ukiyoye  artists,  and  he 
takes  motives,  such  as  that  of  two  girls  struggling  with  each  other  for 
possession  of  a  theatre  programme,  which  are  livelier  in  action  than  most. 

Kiyohiro  and  Kiyomitsu  are  also  admirable  artists ;  and  the  rivalry 
between  these  three  is  keen  during  Kwanyen  and  Horeki.  Kiyohiro's 
early  prints  in  Torii  style,  some  of  which  were  hand- coloured,  are  weak 
and  without  much  promise ;  but  Masanobu's  prints  in  two  colours  were 
an  inspiration  to  him,  and  before  long  he  was  producing  excellent  designs 
in  the  prevailing  style  of  that  master.  Perhaps  Kiyomitsu  was  a  little  the 
more  original  of  the  two ;  but  this  is  a  case  where  one's  judgment  is  apt 
to  vary.  We  give  the  palm  to  one  or  the  other,  and  then  the  discovery  of 
a  print  by  the  rival  artist  makes  one  repent  or  hesitate.  Neither  Kiyohiro 
nor  Kiyomitsu,  however,  is  so  individual  a  master  as  Toyonobu.  In  later 
chapters  we  shall  find  the  same  emulation  in  excellence ;  a  whole  group 
of  able  designers  modelling  themselves  on  a  central  master,  and  content 
to  play  variations  on  his  themes.  Now  it  is  Masanobu,  later  it  will  be 
Harunobu,  or  Kiyonaga. 

The  prints  by  Toyonobu  and  by  Kiyomitsu  which  we  reproduce  are  in 
the  large  form,  oban ,  which  Masanobu  used  for  some  of  his  finest  designs. 
This  size  was  not  so  popular  as  the  smaller  hoso-ye,  but  all  the  masters 
of  the  day,  except  perhaps  Shigenaga,  occasionally  employed  it.  The 
Kiyomitsu  print  which  we  reproduce,  a  beautiful  example  of  his  work, 
can  be  dated  1765. 

Even  the  veteran  Kiyomasu  sometimes  designed  actor-prints  on  this 
large  scale.  One  of  a  group  of  three  actors  as  Otokodate,  the  fraternity  of 
men  vowed  to  stand  by  each  other  and  to  help  the  friendless  and  oppressed, 
is  in  the  British  Museum. 


38 


FROM  1730  TO  1764 

It  is  interesting  to  place  this  print  side  by  side  with  another  oban  of  about 
the  same  time  in  the  same  collection,  representing  a  girl  selling  flowering 
plants  carried  on  a  yoke  in  baskets.  It  is  by  a  young  artist  of  the  school 
of  Shigenaga,  scarcely  known  and  undistinguished  as  yet,  whose  name 
before  long  will  be  famous  and  whose  genius  will  be  supreme  in  Ukiyo-ye, 
Harunobu.  One  would  hardly  guess  from  either  of  these  prints  the 
masterpieces  of  which  the  designer's  hand  was  capable ;  the  one  in  the 
past,  and  the  other  in  the  future.  Harunobu  was  designing  actor-prints 
in  two  colours,  but  only  a  few  of  these  have  survived ;  and  the  print 
above-mentioned  is  the  best  known  of  his  rare  non-theatrical  designs  of 
this  period. 

Kiyomasu  was  at  the  end  of  his  career.  But  we  have  not  yet  taken  fare¬ 
well  of  him.  Still  later  in  date  is  the  print  reproduced  on  Plate  23.  This 
is  a  print  in  three,  possibly  even  four  colours ;  an  excessive  rarity  in  his 
work.  For  the  artists  were  beginning  to  tire  of  the  limitations  of  the 
rose  and  green.  By  superimposing  one  tint  on  another,  an  additional 
variation  had  been  gained.  The  device  is  used  by  Masanobu  in  his 
beautiful  print  of  the  geisha  going  to  the  play,  already  mentioned  (p.  37). 
But  the  result  was  not  very  happy  ;  it  introduced  a  hint  of  muddiness  into 
a  colour-scheme,  the  charm  of  which  was  its  luminous  gaiety.  Experi¬ 
ments  were  made,  especially  by  Kiyomitsu,  with  a  third,  and  sometimes 
a  fourth  colour;  yellow,  olive,  and  a  fuller  red  were  introduced.  The 
balance  of  the  old,  simple  contrast  was  disturbed,  but  without  a  com¬ 
pensating  gain.  In  fact,  no  **  half-way  house  **  such  as  this  could  really 
satisfy.  The  two-colour  print  was  a  delightful  thing  in  itself;  but  the 
colours  were  arbitrary  and  decorative  only.  Once  the  change  was  made 
to  fuller  colour,  the  mind  unconsciously  felt  the  claims  of  representation 
as  well  as  decoration.  The  full-coloured  print  was  inevitable.  The 
experiments  of  the  last  years  of  Horeki  were  no  doubt  serviceable  as  a 
preliminary  to  the  achievement  of  Meiwa.  But  they  are  not  comparable 
with  the  masterpieces  of  the  two-colour  print  which  preceded  them,  and 
which  are  for  ever  associated  with  the  genius  of  Okumura  Masanobu. 


39 


CHAPTER  IV 
MEIWA  PERIOD 

FEBRUARY  2nd,  1764,  TO  FEBRUARY  3RD,  1772 


CHAPTER  IV 


MEIWA  PERIOD 

FEBRUARY  2ND,  1764,  TO  FEBRUARY  3RD,  1772 

In  the  beginning  of  the  second  year  of  Meiwa  (20th  of  February,  1765), 
there  appeared  a  number  of  surimono  into  the  designs  of  which  are  cleverly 
interwoven  the  long  or  short  months  of  that  year,  either  with  or  without 
the  year  name  ( nengo )  and  the  E-to,  Kinoto  Tori.  They  are  called 
ye-goyomi  or  pictorial  almanacs  ;  dai-sho  no  surimono  ;  or  ryaku-reki — 
abbreviated  calendars.  They  were  not  for  sale ;  but  were  interchanged 
or  distributed  among  friends  by  members  of  art  clubs  as  souvenirs  of 
periodic  gatherings.  These  clubs  or  ren  were  composed  of  amateur 
art-lovers,  foremost  amongst  whom  was  Kikurensha  Kyosen.  This  man 
is  first  heard  of  in  a  book  entitled  Segen  Jui ,  published  in  the  nth  month 
of  Horeki  8  (commenced  December  1st,  1758),  and  comprising  three 
volumes  called  Kiku,  Ren,  and  Sha,  whence  his  first  name.  He  also  used 
the  go  of  Josei  Sanjin,  and  is  said  to  have  lived  into  the  Kwansei  period, 
though  his  interest  in  art  appears  to  have  ceased  about  the  middle  of 
Meiwa.  Segen  Jui  consists  of  seventeen-syllable  poems  by  Kyosen,  his 
master  Saren,  and  his  pupils  ;  and  is  illustrated  by  woodcuts  after  designs 
by  Okumura  Masanobu,  Ishikawa  Toyonobu,  Hyakurin  Sori,  and  Kyosen 
himself.  One  of  Toyonobu's  designs  was  issued  as  a  ye-goyomi  in  1765, 
and  is  reproduced  in  F.  W.  Gookin's  catalogue  of  a  memorial  exhibition 
of  Japanese  colour-prints  from  the  collection  of  the  late  Clarence 
Buckingham,  Chicago,  1915,  No.  142.  Besides  the  artist's  signature 
and  seal,  there  is  that  of  “  Kyosen  renju  Rinko,"  i.e.  “  Rinko  of  the 
Kyosen  club." 

Ye-goyomi  were  also  issued  for  the  3rd  year  of  Meiwa  (1766)  ;  but 
appear  to  have  been  discontinued  after  that  year.  It  is  generally  believed 
that  they  were  designed,  engraved,  and  printed  in  the  year  preceding  that 
of  issue  ;  but  this  was  not  always  the  case.  For  instance,  one  for  Meiwa  2 
of  a  girl  in  a  straw  raincoat  with  a  bundle  of  leaves  on  her  shoulder  and 
straw  hat  in  hand,  signed  Sakei  ko  and  sealed  Sakei,  is  inscribed  “  first 
published  on  the  5th  day  of  the  5th  month."  Many  of  these  calendars, 
as  in  this  case,  are  signed  with  otherwise  unknown  names  to  which  is 
appended  the  ideograph  ko,  as  to  the  meaning  of  which  opinion  is 
divided. 

It  has  been  interpreted  as  equivalent  to  engraved,  or  printed,  or  conceived 
in  the  sense  of  suggesting  the  idea  of  the  picture.  The  first  interpretation 

43 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


is  certainly  wrong,  for  alongside  signatures  of  this  nature  is  often  found 
the  name  of  the  engraver. 

As  an  example  :  a  calendar  for  1765,  representing  Daruma  and  a  girl 
under  an  open  umbrella  which  he  holds  over  her  head — aiai-gasa  as  it  is 
called — as  they  walk  in  conversation  along  the  bank  of  a  stream,  is  signed 
on  the  right  44  Shisen  ko,""  sealed  44  Shisen,""  and  on  the  left  44  Suzuki 
Harunobu  gwa  ""  and  44  Sekine  Kayei  azusa,""  i.e.  engraved.  Here  it  is 
clear  that  Shisen  is  a  different  individual  from  Sekine  Kayei.  In  the 
production  of  a  print,  three  men  are  usually  associated,  namely  the  artist, 
the  engraver,  and  the  printer  ;  so  that  in  the  above  example  the  ideograph 
ko  appended  to  Shisen's  name  would  appear  to  signify  44  printed/" 

A  suggestion,  however,  that  this  is  not  the  correct  interpretation  has  been 
put  forward  by  Mr.  K.  Tomita  in  No.  121,  Vol.  XX,  of  the  Boston  Museum 
of  Fine  Arts  Bulletin,  October,  1922,  in  an  article  entitled  44  Surimono/"1 

He  thinks  that  one  of  the  forms  of  ko  is  the  first  character  of  ku-fu 
(devised),  and  that  another  form  stands  for  kd-an  (conceived) ;  both 
indicating  the  idea  of  the  picture  having  been  suggested.  It  is  quite  true 
that  the  ku  of  ku-fu  is  the  same  ideograph  as  the  ko  found  appended  to 
these  signatures,  and  hence  may  be  interpreted  as  Mr.  Tomita  suggests. 

But  the  ko  of  kd-an  is  an  entirely  different  character,  which  is  never 
found  on  these  calendars.  He  is  further  of  opinion  that  44  some  of  these 
amateur  designers  undoubtedly  not  only  conceived  their  own  designs  and 
cut  their  own  blocks,  but  printed  from  them  as  well.  Most  of  them, 
however,  seem  to  have  commissioned  artists  like  Harunobu  to  make 
drawings  after  their  ideas,  and  to  have  engaged  engravers  and  printers  to 
complete  the  calendars/" 

A  ye-goyomi  for  1765,  recently  come  to  light  and  reproduced  on  Plate  III, 
No.  57,  of  the  collection  Ch.  Haviland,  sold  at  Paris  in  November,  1922, 
goes  to  support  the  suggestion  of  the  last  sentence.  The  signatures  are 
catalogued  thus  :  4  4  signed,  on  the  right,  Suzuki  Harunobu ;  engraver, 
Ishi-i ;  on  the  left,  Riusui  Tokiofu,  Rokei,  ko.""  No  special  attention  has 
been  invited  to  the  latter  unique  and  interesting  signature  which  trans¬ 
literated  should  read  :  Ryusui  To  (Jap.  Higashi)  kyo  (Jap.  iru)  fu  (Jap. 
yome)  Rokei  ko  ;  that  is, 44  conceived  (or  printed  s')  by  Rokei,  the  daughter- 
in-law  (or  perhaps  wife)  of  Ryusui  dwelling  in  the  East,  i.e.  Yedo."" 
Ryusui  is  the  artist  already  mentioned  in  the  preceding  chapter.  In  1762 
he  illustrated  a  book  entitled  Umi  no  sachi ,  two  volumes,  in  colours  ( vide 
Hayashi  catalogue,  No.  1597).  Here  we  find  his  daughter-in-law  (or  wife) 
1  The  writer  is  indebted  to  F.  W.  Gookin  for  a  copy  of  this  bulletin. 

44 


ME  I W  A  PERIOD:  FROM  1764  TO  1772 

Rokei  taking  part  in  the  production  of  this  calendar ;  and  it  seems  more 
probable  that  she  did  so  in  the  capacity  of  u  conceiver  ”  of  the  design 
rather  than  in  that  of  u  printer  '' — though,  of  course,  the  latter  is  possible. 
Now  if  this  was  really  the  case,  then  it  is  direct  evidence  of  the  correctness 
of  Mr.  Tomita's  view.  However  that  may  be,  he  has  certainly  made  a 
valuable  contribution  to  this  vexed  question. 

Further  research  is  necessary  before  accepting  or  rejecting  either  of  these 
views,  as  the  following  calendars  for  1765  will  show.  No.  383  Hayashi 
catalogue  is  signed  44  Hakusei  ko  ''  and  bears  the  following  names : 
Gwako  (artist),  "  Suzuki  Harunobu  ” ;  choko  (engraver),  44  Yendo 
Goroku  ''  ;  shoko  or  printer,  **  Yumoto  Koshi.''  In  the  catalogue,  Hakusei 
is  stated  to  be  another  name  of  the  engraver ;  another  view  is  that  he  is 
identical  with  the  printer.  But  neither  view  can  be  proved  and  are  but 
conjectures  based  on  the  belief  that  only  three  men  produced  these  prints. 
Mr.  Tomita's  opinion  probably  applies  to  this  case,  when  Hakusei  would 
be  held  to  be  the  44  conceiver  "  of  the  picture.  This  man's  name  appears 
alone  in  seal  form  on  a  calendar  depicting  a  young  couple  reading  a  roll 
inscribed  with  the  names  of  the  year  1765  and  the  months,  she  seated  on  a 
kotatsu  over  which  is  spread  a  futon,  and  he  sprawling  beneath  the  latter. 
Perhaps  this  may  appear  to  be  a  case  in  point  of  an  amateur  conceiving, 
designing,  engraving,  and  printing  the  picture  as  suggested  by  Mr.  Tomita. 
But  another  copy  of  the  same  print  is  stamped  with  the  seal  (undeciphered) 
of  a  different  individual,  and  Mr.  Gookin  has  expressed  to  the  writer  his 
opinion  that  from  its  colour  qualities  it  does  not  differ  greatly  in  date  of 
printing,  and  that  both  impressions  were  issued  in  the  same  year.  If  this 
be  so,  it  is  difficult  to  reconcile  these  two  men  as  conceivers  of  the  same 
picture,  and  leads  one  to  regard  them  rather  as  printers  of  another's 
design ;  but  this  conclusion  militates  against  the  interpretation  of  the 
role  played  by  Hakusei  in  the  first-quoted  print.  As  the  matter  at  present 
stands  it  would  be  premature  to  express  a  decided  opinion. 

Ye-goyomi  were  printed  on  a  superior  paper  known  as  hosho,  so  called 
from  its  having  been  used  in  writing  hosho  or  letters  of  instruction  issued 
through  the  secretary  of  the  Kamakura  Shogunate  by  order  of  the  latter. 

Their  size  is  about  11  in.  high  by  8  in.  wide,  and  the  printing  was  done 
with  the  greatest  care  and  refinement.  Some  of  them  were  issued  a  year 
or  two  later  by  regular  publishers,  but  with  the  calendric  symbols  removed 
and  in  most  cases  with  the  colour-scheme  altered.  In  these  re-issues  we 
frequently  find  the  signature  Harunobu  substituted  for  the  name  or  seal 
of  the  printer  or  conceiver  whichever  he  may  have  been.  In  addition  to  the 

45 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


designers  of  ye-goyomi  already  named,  we  find  the  following  professionals  : 
Minko,  Komatsuken,  Uyeno  Shoha,  Shigemasa  under  the  name  of  Kage1 
(see  reproduction,  Von  Seidlitz,  London,  ed.  1910,  opposite  p.  108),  and 
Toyomasa.  Several  other  signatures  are  found  in  seals,  such  as  Hakusei, 
Seiko,  Soan,  etc. ;  but  whether  these  were  professional  artists  is  a  moot 
point.  Some,  for  example  Hakusei,  and  Seiko  under  the  name  of  Sei- 
ichitei  Niju,  sometimes  appended  ko  to  their  signatures — which  makes 
it  difficult  to  decide.  By  far  the  most  important  and  prolific,  however, 
was  Harunobu,  whose  real  name  was  Hozumi  Jihei,  and  who  lived  in 
Yonezawa-cho,  Ryogoku,  Yedo.  He  died  on  the  15th  day  of  6th  month 
of  Meiwa  7,  i.e.  July  7th,  1770,  at  the  age,  according  to  Ukiyo  gwajinden, 
of  forty-six ;  whence  he  was  born  in  1725.  Shiba  Kokan  (1747-1818), 
notorious  as  an  avowed  forger  of  Harunobu's  signature  on  prints  immedi¬ 
ately  after  his  death  and  which  deceived  even  the  purchasers  of  that  time, 
states  in  his  diary,  Shumbaro  hikki ,  published  in  1811,  that  u  the  Ukiyoye 
painter  Suzuki  Harunobu,  famous  for  his  drawings  of  the  manners  and 
customs  of  women  of  the  period,  suddenly  fell  ill  and  died  when  over 
forty  ” ;  so  that  the  Ukiyo  gwajinden  is  probably  correct,  though  the 
failure  so  far  to  locate  Harunobu's  tomb  makes  verification  impossible. 
He  appears  to  have  been  the  first  artist  to  design  for  the  polychrome  prints 
that  followed  the  ye-goyomi ,  and  which  from  their  resemblance  to  brocade 
were  called  Azuma  Nichiki-ye  or  brocade  pictures  of  Azuma,  i.e.  the 
eastern  provinces  of  which  Yedo  was  the  capital  city.  According  to  the 
famous  writer  Kyokutei  Bakin,  in  his  miscellany  Yenseki-zasshi ,  an 
engraver  named  Kinroku  invented  the  process  in  consultation  with  a 
certain  printer. 

In  what  exactly  the  new  process  consisted  is  not  clear.  Bakin's  statement 
is  as  follows  :  “  Concerning  Nishiki-ye,  the  block-cutter  Kinroku  told 
me  that  in  the  beginning  of  Meiwa  he  *  in  consultation  with  a  certain 
printer,  invented  a  method  of  putting  a  guide-mark  ( kento )  on  several 
blocks  by  means  of  which  several  colours  could  be  applied  to  the  one 
sheet  of  paper.  Since  then  many  printers,  imitating  my  method,  have 
issued  these  Nishiki-ye  '  .  .  .  Kinroku  left  this  world  in  7th  month  of 
Bunkwa  1  (1804).  .  .  .”  As  we  have  seen,  the  guide-mark  had  been  in 
use  from  the  beginning  of  Kwampo  (1741)  and  perhaps  earlier,  so  that 
Kinroku's  invention  must  have  included  something  more  than  the 
kento — unless  it  was  an  improved  form. 

In  some  of  these  nishiki-ye  as  many  as  eleven  blocks  were  employed. 

1  This  reading  of  the  signature  is  tentative. 

46 


ME  I W  A  PERIOD:  FROM  1764  TO  1772 

Harunobu  also  illustrated  twenty  books,  some  in  colours,  and  extending 
in  date  from  1762  till  his  death* 

Besides  those  already  mentioned,  the  older  men  who  continued  to  work 
during  Meiwa  include  Furuyama  Moromasa,  Tamura  Yoshinobu,  Yama¬ 
moto  Yoshinobu,  Tanaka  Masunobu,  Tomikawa  Ginsetsu  Fusanobu,  and 
the  Torii — Kiyohiro  and  Kiyomitsu  I. 

New  men  appeared  in  Ishikawa  Toyomasa,  Torii  Kiyotsune,  Ippitsusai 
Buncho,  Katsukawa  Shunsho,  Kitao  Shigemasa,  Isoda  Koryusai,  Utagawa 
Toyoharu,  Torii  Kiyohisa,  and  Torii  Kiyonaga. 

There  were,  besides,  several  followers  of  Harunobu,  such  as  Fujinobu, 
Kishosai  Suzuki  Yasunobu,  Komai  Yoshinobu,  Harutsugu  (otherwise 
Haruji),  Muranobu,  and  Harushige  (later  called  Shiba  Kokan  and  already 
referred  to).  With  the  exception  of  the  last,  it  is  only  necessary  to  say  that 
nothing  is  known  of  them  except  a  few  rare  prints  in  which  they  copied 
their  master's  style  with  fair  success. 

Collaboration  amongst  artists  forms  an  interesting  innovation  during 
this  period.  Examples  of  such  are  to  be  seen  in  the  following  :  Harunobu, 
Kiyomitsu,  and  Kiyotsune  ;  Harunobu  and  Buncho ;  Kiyomitsu  and 
Kiyotsune ;  Buncho  and  Shunsho ;  and  Shunsho,  Shigemasa,  and 
Toyoharu. 

Minko,  whose  real  name  was  Tachibana  Masatoshi,  and  who  used  the 
go  of  Gyokujuken,  was  a  native  of  Osaka  or  Kyoto  and  an  embroiderer  by 
trade.  He  came  to  Yedo  about  1762,  and  took  an  active  part  in  print¬ 
designing  during  Meiwa.  His  name,  along  with  those  of  Banto,  Chiryo, 
Suiyo,  Kisen,  and  Ryushi,  appears  in  seal  form  on  a  set  of  six  oblong 
calendars  for  1765  enclosed  in  a  wrapper  on  which  are  inscribed  the  title, 
u  The  Fox's  Wedding,"  their  names,  and  those  of  the  engraver  Okamoto 
Shogyo,  and  of  the  printer  Harada  Yoshiyuki.  Another  copy  of  Minko's 
print  in  this  set  is  reproduced  on  Plate  IV,  No.  60,  Part  I,  Haviland  Collec¬ 
tion,  and  is  inscribed  :  “  Engraver,  Yamaguchi  Bokuyd  (Mokuyo  in  cata¬ 
logue),"  and  “  Minko  made  this  at  the  request  of  a  certain  person  ( aru - 
hitOy  not  amateur  as  stated  by  cataloguer),"  and  followed  by  the  seal 
**  Tachibana  Masatoshi."  The  two  calendars  are  identical  but  for  these 
inscriptions,  which  are  significant  in  showing  that  two  men  engraved  the 
same  design.  Minko  designed  some  nishiki-ye  which  are  unsigned  and 
generally  attributed — as  indeed  are  most  of  the  unsigned  prints  at  this 
time — to  Harunobu.  His  style  and  colour,  however,  differ  from  those  of 
the  latter,  in  the  one  following  Sukenobu  closer  than  Harunobu  does,  and 
in  the  other  Tsukioka  Settei  (1711-1787,  an  Osaka  painter),  one  of  the 

47 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


finest  colourists  of  the  School*  Plate  27  reproduces  an  unsigned  print 
undoubtedly  designed  by  him.  The  colours  are  wonderfully  pure  and  rich. 
In  1771,  not  1770  as  is  generally  stated,  a  book  in  two  volumes  entitled 
Saigwa  shokunin  burui ,  reproduced  in  colours  by  the  stencil  process,  is 
one  of  the  finest  Japanese  colour  books  ever  produced. 

The  engraver  was  the  above-mentioned  Okamoto  Shogyo.  The  rarity 
of  this  edition  is  accounted  for  by  the  destruction  of  the  plates  by  fire  in 
1772,  as  explained  in  the  preface  to  the  second  edition  of  1784,  a  very 
inferior  production  in  every  way.  Minko  also  illustrated  two  other  books 
in  1769  and  1770.  His  activity  ceased  after  this  period.  His  dates  of 
birth  and  death  have  not  yet  been  discovered.  He  probably  received  in¬ 
struction  from  Sukenobu  and  Settei  before  coming  to  Yedo. 

Komatsuken  (may  be  also  pronounced  Shoshoken)  appears  to  have  been 
identical  with  Komatsu-ya  Hyakki,  who  was  Yedo  born,  and  kept  a  drug 
store  at  Iida-machi  in  that  city.  His  personal  name  was  Sanyemon,  and 
he  died  at  the  age  of  eighty,  some  time  during  Kwansei  (1789-1801). 
Besides  a  few  prints  during  Meiwa,  especially  calendars  for  1765  and  1766, 
he  is  only  known  by  some  erotic  books  in  which  he  follows  the  style  of 
Sukenobu. 

Of  Uyeno  Shoha  nothing  is  known  save  that  he  made  a  few  calendars  for 
1765. 

Ishikawa  Toyomasa  designed  some  nishiki-ye  between  1767  and  1773. 
He  was  pupil  of  Ishikawa  Toyonobu.  Dates  of  birth  and  death  are 
unrecorded. 

Torii  Kiyotsune  was  pupil  of  Kiyomitsu.  He  worked  much  in  his 
master's  manner  between  1757  and  1779,  but  with  less  ability.  His  birth 
and  death  are  unrecorded. 

Ippitsusai  Buncho  was  a  pupil  of  an  obscure  painter  Ishikawa  Takamoto. 
His  family  name  was  Mori ;  personal  name,  not  known.  His  life-history 
has  been  mixed  up  with  that  of  Kishi  Bunsho,  a  poet  and  pupil  as  such  of 
Buncho.  His  prints  date  from  about  1766  to  1779,  and  are  mostly  those 
of  actors  in  character.  His  nishiki-ye  are  rare.  Birth  and  death  are  not 
yet  known.  He  is  said  to  have  received  the  honorary  title  of  Hokkyo. 

Katsukawa  Shunsho,  pupil  of  Shunsui,  was  born  in  1726,  and  had  as 
personal  name  Yusuke.  As  go  he  took  the  names  of  Kyokurosei,  Yuji, 
Jogwasei,  Roku-roku-an,  and  Ririn.  He  worked  from  about  1757  till  his 
death  on  January  19th,  1793. 

He  used  at  times  a  jar-shaped  seal  inscribed  “  Hayashi  " — the  name  of  a 
publisher  under  whose  encouragement  he  is  said  to  have  adopted  the 

48 


MEIWA  PERIOD:  FROM  1764  TO  1772 

career  of  artist — whence  he  earned  the  nickname  of  Tsubo  (jar).  He 
illustrated  at  least  sixteen  books  from  1770  onwards,  some  in  colours 
being  of  rare  beauty,  e.g.  Yehon  butai  ogi,  three  volumes,  1770,  in  collabora¬ 
tion  with  Buncho  ;  Nishiki  hyakunin  isshu,  one  volume,  1775,  the  original 
issue  of  which,  with  the  poems  written  with  a  fine  brush,  is  extremely 
rare  ;  Seiro  bijin  awase  sugata  kagami ,  three  volumes,  1776,  in  collabora¬ 
tion  with  Shigemasa,  and  one  of  the  finest  books  of  the  Ukiyoye  school  ; 
Yehon  Takara  no  ito ,  one  volume,  1786,  in  collaboration  with  Shigemasa, 
and  consisting  of  twelve  plates — six  by  each  artist — which  had  previously 
appeared  as  single  prints,  two  on  a  block,  about  the  end  of  Meiwa ;  and 
Sanju  rokkasen,  one  volume,  1789. 

Kitao  Shigemasa  was  the  son  of  the  publisher  Suwaraya  Sarobei,  at 
whose  house  in  Kodemmacho,  Yedo,  he  was  born  in  1739.  His  personal 
name  was  Sasuke.  In  his  youth,  he  displayed  so  great  a  talent  as  calli- 
graphist  that  he  received  commissions  to  make  the  Yedo  almanacs.  His 
work  extends  from  about  1759  till  his  death  on  March  8th,  1820.  He, 
like  his  confrere  Shunsho,  was  a  prolific  book  illustrator,  but  designed 
comparatively  few  prints.  He  was  a  self-taught  artist. 

Isoda  Koryusai  was  of  the  military  class.  His  personal  name  was 
Masakatsu.  In  Zoho  Ukiyo-ye-ruiko  he  is  said  to  have  been  a  pupil  of 
Shigenaga,  but  modern  Japanese  critics  discredit  this  statement.  He 
certainly  studied  under  Harunobu,  from  whom  he  received  his  earliest 
gwamyd  or  brush-name  of  Haruhiro.  Dates  of  birth  and  death  unrecorded. 
His  work  extends  from  about  1765  to  1784.  A  book  entitled  Hokuri  uta, 
one  volume,  black  and  white,  without  date,  but  about  1784,  is  signed  on 
the  last  picture  **  Hokkyo  Koryusai,"  which  honorary  title  was  conferred 
upon  him  in  appreciation  of  his  paintings.  His  rapid  drawings  in  ink  in 
the  three-volume  book  Yamato  konzatsu  sogiva  are  wonderfully  clever. 
He  lived  at  Yagenbori  close  to  Ryogoku  Bridge  and  Yonezawa-cho,  where 
Harunobu  dwelt  and  with  whom  he  was  on  intimate  terms  of  friendship. 
“  Yagenbori  inshi,"  **  recluse  of  Yagenbori,"  is  found  sometimes  prefixed  to 
his  signature  from  1777.  A  pillar-print  (see  p.  77)  is  sealed  “  Yagenbori  ". 

Toyoharu  was  a  native  of  Toyo-oka,  Tajima  province  (some  say  he  was 
a  native  of  Bungo  province),  where  he  was  born  in  1735.  His  personal 
name  was  Tajimaya  Masaki ;  his  common  name  Shojiro,  afterwards 
changed  to  Shinyemon.  He  first  studied  under  Tsuruzawa  Tankei 
(d.  1769)  at  Kyoto.  About  the  close  of  Horeki,  he  came  to  Yedo,  and 
became  a  pupil  of  Toriyama  Sekiyen  Toyofusa,  from  whom  he  received 
the  gwamyd  of  Toyonobu.  At  this  time  he  resided  in  Utagawa-cho,  Shiba, 

49 


E 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


whence  he  derived  his  geisei  or  art  surname  of  Utagawa.  Soon  after  he 
changed  from  Toyonobu  to  Toyoharu,  and  took  the  go  of  Ichiryusai.  He 
died  in  1814  at  the  age  of  eighty.  He  is  said  to  have  painted  several 
theatrical  sign-boards. 

Torii  Kiyohisa  was  pupil  of  Kiyomitsu.  Worked  during  Meiwa.  Dates 
of  birth  and  death  not  known. 

Torii  Kiyonaga  was  pupil  of  Kiyomitsu,  upon  whose  death  (1785)  he 
became  the  fourth  Torii.  He  was  born  in  1752,  the  son  of  a  bookseller  at 
Honzaimoku-chd,  Yedo,  named  Shirokiya  Ichibei.  He  was  first  called 
Seki  Shinsuke  (Sekiguchi  being  his  surname),  afterwards  Ichibei ;  and  was 
popularly  known  as  Shimba  no  Kiyonaga.  Late  in  life,  he  is  said  to  have 
opened  a  tobacco  shop.  He  died  on  June  28, 1815,  at  the  age  of  sixty-four ; 
posthumous  name,  Chorin  Yeiju.  He,  like  his  predecessors  of  the  Torii 
line,  painted  theatrical  sign-boards.  His  work  extends  from  about  1766-7 
till  1792,  after  which  he  practically  gave  up  print-designing  for  painting. 

Harushige  is  identical  with  the  artist  who  became  known  later  on  as 
Shiba  Kokan.  He  was  not  a  pupil  of  Suzuki  Harunobu,  whose  geisei  he 
assumed  without  authority  about  1771,  after  having  previously  forged 
that  artist's  name  as  already  mentioned.  About  1782  he  studied  the  Dutch 
methods  at  Nagasaki,  and  in  1784  made  some  interesting  copper-plate 
engravings  in  European  perspective,  coloured  by  hand.  These  he  sometimes 
signed  Shiba  Kokan  sosei,  i.e.  4 4  created  by  Shiba  Kokan."  Some,  too, 
are  inscribed  with  Dutch  titles,  e.g.  Tweelandbruk.  He  also  tried  his  hand 
at  oil  painting. 

Meiwa  opens  a  new  epoch  in  Ukiyo-ye.  The  art  of  the  print-designers 
renews  its  youth  and  makes  a  fresh  beginning.  We  may  imagine  the  stir 
caused  among  artists  and  publishers  by  the  cloud  of  little  calendar-prints 
issued  privately  in  the  second  year  of  Meiwa  and  circulated  among  groups 
of  friends  with  the  newly- invented  choice  of  colours,  not  many  yet,  but 
delicately  harmonized  and  no  longer  founded  on  the  old  contrast  of  rose 
and  green  with  an  extra  colour  added. 

Harunobu  had  been  working  for  long  before  1764,  but  few  of  his  beni- 
prints  have  survived,  and  these  are  not  remarkable.  Some  of  them  were 
actor-prints,  which  he  afterwards  eschewed  and  disdained.  It  was  only 
with  the  opening  of  Meiwa  that  he  began  to  disclose  his  real  genius,  but 
then  it  was  as  if  a  torrent  had  been  released.  He  poured  out  prints  in 
rich  abundance  till  death  cut  short  his  production  in  his  prime  ;  and 
even  if  we  subtract  from  the  total  those  prints,  fairly  numerous,  which 

50 


MEIWA  PERIOD:  FROM  1764  TO  1772 

often  pass  under  his  name,  but  were  really  designed  by  other  hands,  the 
fecundity  of  his  invention  during  the  last  five  years  of  his  life  is 
astonishing. 

All  the  promising  young  talents,  and  some  even  of  the  established  veterans, 
like  Toyonobu,  were  content  to  follow  in  Harunobu's  steps.  Neither 
Masanobu  in  the  preceding  period  nor  Kiyonaga  in  Temmei  period  attained 
quite  so  sovereign  a  position  or  established  so  complete  a  dominance. 

Why  the  invention  of  the  polychrome  print  should  have  been  so  long 
delayed  is  a  problem  to  which  no  certain  answer  can  be  given.  It  can 
hardly  have  been  any  technical  obstacles.  It  is  more  likely  that  it  was  a 
question  of  the  expense  of  the  many  printings  required. 

The  actual  process  of  cutting  and  printing  the  wood-blocks  has  been 
described  so  often  and  is  now  so  familiar  that  we  need  not  repeat  it.  But 
though  the  work  of  the  designer,  the  wood- cutter,  and  the  printer,  can  each 
be  imagined  in  detail,  there  are  some  points  in  the  relation  of  the  three  to 
each  other  which  have  hitherto  remained  a  little  obscure.  In  what  shape, 
for  instance,  was  the  design  communicated  to  the  engraver  i  Did  he 
have  a  design  completed  in  colour  before  him  i  And  how  much  latitude 
or  responsibility  had  the  printer  i 

Major  Sexton  found  and  interviewed  in  Japan  an  old  printer  from  whom 
he  sought  information ;  unfortunately  the  printer  was  so  very  old  that  he 
was  incapable  of  any  connected  statement.  Quite  recently,  however,  a 
correspondent  in  Japan  has  been  able  to  obtain  a  more  satisfactory  inter¬ 
view  with  a  printer,  trained  in  the  old  traditions,  who  had  followed  his 
profession  since  1880 ;  and  the  resulting  notes,  here  reproduced,  are  of 
real  interest.  **  The  artist's  original  sketch  was  called  sumi  sen  on  ye,  or 
ink-line  picture.  This  was  handed  to  the  engraver,  who  cut  it  on  a  block 
called  ji  sumi  ita ,  literally  4  ground  ink-board  *  (or,  as  we  should  say,  key- 
block)  ;  after  which  a  printer  took  off  the  required  number  of  correction 
proofs  ( kyd-gd ),  one  for  each  colour.  These  proofs  were  on  rough  Mino 
paper,  a  tough,  thick  paper  originally  made  at  Mino,  a  village  about  ten 
miles  north  of  the  present  Osaka.  The  artist  painted  on  each  proof  the 
colour  he  wished  to  be  employed  ;  beni,  kusa  (grass- green),  shu  (vermilion), 
aka  (red),  ki  (yellow),  ai  (blue),  usu-ai  (light  blue),  and  so  on  ;  at  the  same 
time  he  indicated  the  colour  by  name.  He  then  gave  these  correction 
proofs  to  the  engraver,  who  proceeded  to  cut  iro  ita  or  colour-blocks  for 
each  colour,  on  completion  of  which  they  were  examined  by  the  printer, 
presumably  as  to  their  suitability  for  taking  the  colour.  If  satisfied,  the 
printer  applied  the  colour  to  each  block  as  indicated  by  the  artist  on  the 

5i 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


proofs,  adding  here  and  subtracting  there  until  he  got  the  required  notan 
or  tone.  This  was  an  extremely  difficult  operation,  as  he  had  to  rely  on 
his  own  brains  in  interpreting  the  artist's  intention,  and  it  required  the 
most  careful  consideration  and  the  utmost  skill,  to  which  very  few  printers 
attained.  The  Ditcher,  as  the  printer  who  had  merely  to  apply  sumi  (ink) 
to  the  key-block  was  called,  had  no  need  to  trouble  about  the  kento  or 
guide-mark ;  he  had  but  to  be  a  quick  manipulator ;  but  the  colour- 
printer  knew  that  the  success  of  the  picture  depended  on  the  exact 
adjustment  of  the  colours." 

It  is  probable  that  this  procedure  followed  the  tradition  set  up  in  Meiwa. 
The  division  of  labour  made  possible  the  extraordinary  fecundity  of  artists 
like  Harunobu  and  later  of  Utamaro,  though  we  cannot  cease  to  admire 
the  wealth  of  their  inventiveness  in  design.  To  Harunobu  the  invention 
of  the  polychrome  print  was  a  heaven-sent  piece  of  fortune,  since  it  set 
free  his  genius  for  colour ;  and  the  colouring  produced  by  the  contact  of 
the  brush- charged  surface  of  a  wood-block  with  the  sympathetic  texture 
of  mulberry-pith  paper  was  something  different  in  kind  from  the  colouring 
to  be  got  on  a  kakemono . 

Among  the  new  colours  now  introduced  were  a  delicate  blue  called  airo, 
used  for  skies  and  also  sometimes  for  water ;  a  violet,  murasaki ;  a  red 
ochre,  beni-gara,  varying  from  brick-red  to  chocolate ;  and  red  oxide  of 
iron.  The  first  two,  the  blue  and  the  violet,  were  unfortunately  very 
liable  to  fade  ;  as  also  were  the  beautiful  rose-red  beni  and  the  fuller  red 
sho-yenji ,  and  gamboge  among  the  yellows.  Thus  it  often  happens  that  we 
see  prints  in  which  the  stable  greens  and  yellows  and  especially  the  strong 
opaque  chocolate  have  lost  relation  with  the  other  faded  colours,  and 
Harunobu's  harmony  is  destroyed. 

Besides  these  simple  colours  Harunobu  invented,  or  at  least  seems  the 
first  to  have  used,  an  exquisite  pearly  grey  made  by  mixing  ink  with  white 
lead  and  powdered  mica.  This  is  the  opaque  grey  which  he  used  for 
masonry,  as  in  the  print  of  a  boy  offering  to  sell  toy-archery  gear  to  a 
woman  going  home  past  the  great  walls  of  Yedo  Castle.  White  lead  was 
also  mixed  with  beni  to  produce  a  beautiful  opaque  pink.  With  these  pig¬ 
ments  at  his  disposal,  and  with  all  the  range  of  pale  grey  to  deep  black 
to  be  obtained  from  Chinese  ink,  Harunobu  was,  of  course,  able  to  create 
modulations  of  colour  altogether  outside  the  scope  of  what  his  predecessors 
had  achieved  with  their  simple  schemes,  and  never  surpassed  by  his 
successors.  Of  all  the  Ukiyo-ye  masters  Harunobu  is  the  subtlest  and 

52 


ME  I W  A  PERIOD:  FROM  1764  TO  1772 

most  magical  colourist.  In  all  his  best  work — and  the  level  of  his  work  is 
very  high — the  colour  is  fused  with  the  design  to  create  an  emotional 
effect. 

The  influence  of  Sukenobu  on  the  Yedo  artists  during  the  preceding 
period  has  been  already  noted.  That  influence  was  all  in  the  direction  of 
grace  and  suavity,  softening  the  violent  exuberance  of  Kiyonobu's  style, 
and  infusing  an  atmosphere  of  intimacy.  It  was  congenial  to  something  in 
Okumura  Masanobu's  nature,  though  it  did  not  weaken  his  art.  Harunobu 
was  a  pupil  of  Shigenaga,  but  it  was  to  Sukenobu  that  his  art  owed  most. 

Sukenobu  had  a  fertile  gift  for  animated  and  graceful  compositions. 
Harunobu  was  not  more  inventive,  but  his  inventions  were  more  exquisite, 
more  **  final  ”  in  their  form.  He  was  more  imaginative.  He  took  up  the 
same  subject-matter  as  Sukenobu,  but  showed  his  genius  in  discovering 
motives  that  concentrated  the  sentiment  of  a  scene  in  an  expressive  design, 
to  which  every  line  and  every  tone  of  colour  contributed.  None  of  the 
Ukiyoye  masters  before  his  time  approached  him  in  the  keenness  of 
his  sensibility.  His  prints  have  about  them  the  same  sort  of  exquisite 
poignancy  that  the  scent  of  the  narcissus  has,  breathing  out  the  very  essence 
of  spring.  It  is  the  springtime  of  life  that  preoccupies  him  ;  the  bloom, 
the  shyness,  the  sensitiveness,  the  trouble,  the  passions,  the  thrilling  joys 
of  adolescence.  There  are  prints  of  his  which  are  night-pieces,  though, 
according  to  Japanese  convention,  all  is  visible  as  in  daylight,  but  relieved 
against  a  black  sky ;  and  against  this  black  sky  he  loves  to  set  the  white 
blossoms  of  the  cherry,  perhaps  illuminated  from  below  by  a  lantern 
carried  by  one  of  a  pair  of  lovers,  the  blossoms  appearing  so  in  isolation 
as  a  miracle  of  fugitive  but  motionless  beauty,  each  perfect  in  its  white 
shape.  The  enchantment  of  the  spring  flowers  appearing  out  of  the 
darkness,  and  their  very  fragrance,  is  communicated  to  our  senses  even 
through  the  wood-cutter's  translation  of  the  scene ;  but  we  should  not  feel 
this  as  we  do,  were  not  those  young  human  forms  intimately  related  to 
that  apparition  of  beauty  in  the  design,  so  that  we  seem  to  share  their 
heightened  senses  in  the  intoxication  of  a  spring  night. 

In  preceding  phases  of  Ukiyo-ye  the  finest  prints  had  aimed  at  a  certain 
largeness,  both  in  the  forms  and  the  design.  But  now  it  was  the  exquisite¬ 
ness  of  small  things  that  Harunobu  set  out  to  reveal.  The  chosen  size 
for  the  print  was  now  smaller  and  approaching  the  square  ;  and  the  human 
types  portrayed  were  delicate  flower-like  forms,  with  small  faces  and  with 
arms  and  hands  of  an  infantine  grace  and  an  incredible  slimness.  It  is  an 

53 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


art  that  might  be  reproached  with  effeminacy  but  for  the  intensity  of  its 
perception  of  the  real  charm  of  youth. 

Gainsborough's  little  picture  in  the  National  Gallery  of  his  two  daughters 
as  children  chasing  a  butterfly  is  a  true  Harunobu  subject ;  and  if  we 
imagine  our  English  master  following  up  that  vein  and  inventing  a  hundred 
of  such  motives  for  pictures,  we  might  have  had  a  parallel  to  Harunobu's 
little  world  of  beauty.  But  the  18th  century  in  Europe  was  in  general  all 
too  prone  to  a  prettiness  dependent  on  the  reminiscence  of  a  smiling  face, 
a  blooming  complexion,  a  happy  attitude ;  it  ran  to  the  vignette.  When 
we  turn  to  Harunobu  we  see  what  a  difference  is  made  by  an  art  which, 
underneath  the  feminine  charm,  the  favour  and  prettiness,  has  a  strong 
basis  of  design,  knows  how  to  relate  the  forms  to  one  another  with  felicity 
and  variety,  and  keeps  always  a  certain  squareness  in  the  main  plan.  Haru- 
nobu’s  sweetness  is  never  sugary.  See  with  how  sure  a  composer's  instinct 
he  loves  to  relieve  the  living  curves  of  his  young  figures,  warm  with  life, 
against  straight  lines  and  angles.  The  rare  and  beautiful  print  reproduced 
(PI.  2)  is  a  good  example.  Compare  also  the  famous  and  often-illus¬ 
trated  print  of  a  girl  going  up  the  stone  stair  of  a  temple,  where  the  hard 
parallels  enhance  the  slender  form  as  she  turns  upon  her  steps. 

Between  1765  and  1770,  though  the  fashion  of  dress  and  coiffure  scarcely 
alter,  there  is  a  perceptible  change  in  Harunobu's  work.  At  first  there  is 
a  kind  of  diffidence  and  timidity  in  design  and  colouring,  though  associated 
with  an  unusual  grace.  But  this  soon  passes  into  the  assured  enjoyment 
of  mastery  and  the  delighted  exploration  of  a  chosen  range  of  themes.  The 
earlier  prints  show  a  rounded  type  of  face,  which  little  by  little  becomes 
longer,  and  with  that  comes  a  slightly  taller  and  slimmer  type  of  figure. 
The  colouring  again  assumes  stronger  harmonies.  And  with  the  employ¬ 
ment  of  more  colours  we  find  Harunobu  completing  his  outdoor  scenes  with 
a  blue  sky.  But  the  blue,  a  vegetable  colour,  was  a  fugitive  one,  sensitive 
especially  to  damp,  and  it  is  rarely  found  in  its  pristine  state,  having  usually 
faded  to  a  pleasant  sort  of  buff  tint,  on  which  traces  of  soft  blue  remain. 
This  completeness  of  representation  and  fullness  of  colour  might  have  led 
to  literalism  and  loss  of  style  ;  it  would  assuredly  have  done  so  in  Europe, 
where  a  step  nearer  illusion  has  almost  always  been  hailed  as  “  progress." 
But  in  Japan  the  public  supported  the  artist ;  and  the  artist  was  not  led 
astray  by  a  dull  desire  for  naturalism,  but  pursued  his  own  instinct  for 
choosing  and  emphasizing  what  in  a  given  scene  stirred  his  emotion  and 
offered  him  his  design.  Moreover,  the  tradition,  inveterate  in  Asia,  which 
eliminated  shadows  from  a  picture,  gave  a  certain  ideality  to  the  colour- 

54 


MEIWA  PERIOD:  FROM  1764  TO  1772 

print,  even  in  the  hands  of  its  poorest  practitioners ;  it  made  a  remove 
from  the  actual,  a  certain  formal  grace,  which  might  be  compared  to  the 
use  of  verse  in  drama. 

We  find,  too,  that  this  blue  sky,  which  with  Harunobu,  Buncho,  and 
Koryusai  was  never  more  than  a  flat  tint,  suggesting  the  ambience  of  sunlit 
air  rather  than  imitating  weather,  appears  only  occasionally,  and  in  the 
next  period  was  generally  abandoned  in  favour  of  a  blank  sky.  It  was 
only  when  Prussian  blue  was  introduced  in  the  19th  century,  and  Hokusai 
began  to  design  his  great  landscape  prints,  that  a  strong  but  graded  tint 
became  of  universal  usage  in  the  skies  of  landscape  subjects. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  special  beauty  of  Harunobu's  night-scenes. 
Something  must  also  be  said  of  the  beauty  of  his  snow-scenes.  Here  he 
makes  much  use  of  the  device  of  embossing  ( gauffrage ),  which  was  a  refine¬ 
ment  of  printing  introduced  by  him  to  vary  and  enrich  the  surface  of  prints, 
and  in  this  case  to  give  to  banks  or  lumps  of  snow  a  suggestion  of  mass 
and  also  of  luminous  edge.  One  of  his  most  famous  and  sought-after 
prints  is  the  one  of  two  lovers  walking  under  one  umbrella  on  a  morning 
after  snow.  The  youth  is  in  black,  the  girl  in  white,  but  there  are  reds  and 
purples,  where  the  under-dresses  show.  The  blue  of  the  sky  has  generally 
faded.  The  uneven  surface  of  the  snow  is  indicated  solely  by  embossing. 
Of  this  print  there  is  more  than  one  version.  Undoubtedly  the  finest  is 
that  in  which  the  snow  on  the  umbrella  has  no  black  outline.  It  is  repro¬ 
duced  in  colour  as  frontispiece  to  Gookin's  Japanese  Colour-Prints  and 
their  Designers .  The  key-blocks  in  the  two  versions  are  different ;  it  is 
not  a  question  of  a  different  state,  since  in  the  one  just  mentioned  there  is 
a  willow-bough  at  the  left  reaching  down  almost  to  touch  the  umbrella, 
and  this  is  not  in  the  other  version.  Is  this  a  case  of  a  contemporary  forgery, 
an  unauthorized  print  issued  by  a  block- cutter  i 

Four  beautiful  girls  were  favourite  models  for  Harunobu's  brush  :  their 
names  are  O  Sen,  O  Fuji,  O  Nami,  and  O  Natsu.  O  Sen  was  a  waitress  in 
the  Kagiya  tea-house  at  Kasamori ;  O  Fuji  was  the  daughter  of  a  seller 
of  cosmetics  and  perfumes  ;  the  other  two  were  attendants  in  the  Temple 
of  Yushima  Tenjin.  All  were  famed  for  their  beauty  and  charm.  O  Sen 
and  O  Fuji  especially  inspired  Harunobu.  As  we  see  these  girlish  figures 
in  the  prints,  there  is  little  to  individualize  their  features  ;  and  one  wonders 
how  much  they  were  reshaped  in  his  imagination,  and  how  much  the 
actual  form  and  face  contributed  to  mould  that  chosen  type,  which  we  see 
again  and  again  in  so  many  different  surroundings.  Such  motives  as 
Masanobu  had  discovered — the  girl  walking  on  a  windy  day,  for  example, 

55 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


bent  towards  the  wind  and  holding  her  skirts  round  her  slender  legs — 
were  found  anew  and  in  infinite  variety  by  Harunobu  and  enriched  by  the 
completeness  of  his  new  method.  The  sweet,  slim  girl  crosses  a  bridge  in 
the  snow  ;  or  blows  soap-bubbles  in  an  April  garden  for  her  little  brother  ; 
or  listens  to  the  vanishing  cuckoo,  or  to  the  evening  bell  from  the  near 
temple  ;  or  she  dances  demurely  in  a  ceremonious  temple  dance  ;  or  buys 
from  a  fan-seller  stopping,  with  his  pile  of  black  fan-boxes  on  his  shoulder, 
at  her  door  ;  or  sends  a  love-message  by  a  little  maid  ;  or  is  parting  from 
her  lover.  Harunobu  rarely  takes  his  subjects  from  the  Yoshiwara ;  but 
even  when  the  girl  is  a  courtesan,  how  innocent  in  her  delicate  aloofness 
she  appears ! 

In  one  of  these  rare  night-scenes,  in  which  Harunobu  seems  to  excel 
himself,  we  see  a  girl  with  a  lantern  so  entranced  with  the  beauty  of  the 
blossom  against  the  dark  sky  that  she  stands  as  in  a  dream,  oblivious  of 
her  lover  who  holds  her  hand  and  seeks  to  draw  her  within  the  opened 
shutters  of  the  room.  It  is  reproduced  in  the  Paris  V.L  Catalogue ,  Plate 
XVII.  The  gesture  of  the  youth,  so  gentle  in  its  entreaty,  is  typical  of 
Harunobu's  art.  The  faces  allow  themselves  so  little  of  expression,  they 
appear  so  serene ;  but  in  the  shy  touch  of  two  hands,  what  a  world  of 
feeling  ! 

Harunobu's  disdain  for  the  theatre,  and  his  ambition  to  raise  the  whole 
level  of  Ukiyo-ye,  makes  it  interesting  to  consider  his  relation  to  classic 
art  and  the  subject-matter  of  the  classic  schools. 

Ukiyo-ye  from  the  first  had  been  fond  of  parodying  the  stock  subjects  of 
the  Kan5,  Chinese,  and  Tosa  painters.  But  when  we  say  **  parody/'  we 
are  using  the  word  with  a  different  shade  of  meaning  from  that  to  which 
we  are  accustomed.  Parody  with  us  is  usually  the  parody  of  manner.  But 
with  these  artists  it  is  the  matter  which  is  translated  into  another  sphere. 
Some  historic  or  legendary  episode  is  taken  for  theme,  and  a  parallel  to  it 
found  in  the  everyday  life  of  the  people.  And  though  often  a  humorous 
colour  is  thus  given  to  the  subject,  this  is  by  no  means  always  the  case. 
The  allusion,  the  association,  is  in  itself  sufficient.  What  is  to  be  observed 
in  this  extraordinary  Yedo  public  is  its  obvious  familiarity  (through  the 
public  story-tellers  and  through  stage-plays)  with  all  the  legendary  lore, 
the  heroic  histories  of  Japan,  as  well  as  with  the  personages  of  popular 
religion  and  famous  figures  from  the  past  of  China  and  of  India.  It  is  as 
if  they  loved  to  link  together  all  that  world  with  every  passing  incident  of 
their  own  existence.  And  Harunobu  adds  to  this  allusiveness  the  world 
of  classic  poetry. 


56 


ME  I W  A  PERIOD:  FROM  1764  TO  1772 

We  look  at  these  colour-prints  and  are  charmed  by  their  design  and 
colour.  For  aesthetic  satisfaction  we  demand  no  more.  But  we  shall  not 
understand  their  full  significance  in  relation  to  those  for  whom  and  by 
whom  they  were  produced,  unless  we  realize  how  steeped  they  are  in 
allusion  and  association,  and  perceive  how  many  a  delightful  motive  has 
thereby  been  given  to  the  artist. 

The  older  art  of  Japan,  as  of  China,  is  of  course  far  more  traditional  in 
choice  of  subject  than  European  art.  Only  in  religious  art  has  Western 
painting  been  traditional  to  a  comparable  degree.  Ukiyo-ye  continues 
this  love  of  tradition,  only  it  gives  each  of  the  old  motives  a  new  setting. 

Among  subjects  derived  from  China  are  such  sets  of  themes  as  the 
Twenty-Four  Paragons  of  Filial  Virtue,  and  The  Seven  Sages  of  the 
Bamboo  Grove.  To  these,  and  even  to  the  subject  of  the  Three  Wine- 
tasters — Confucius,  Lao-tzu,  and  Buddha  tasting  wine  from  a  jar  and  each 
finding  a  different  savour  in  it — homely  counterparts  are  invented.  The 
most  famous  of  Chinese  love-stories,  the  passion  of  the  Emperor  Ming 
Huang  for  his  fascinating  concubine  Yang-Kuei-fei,  affords  a  favourite 
motive.  There  is  a  lovely  print  by  Harunobu — it  is  reproduced  in  the 
Paris  VJ .  Catalogue ,  No.  153 — of  two  lovers  seated  by  a  stream,  the  youth 
showing  the  girl  how  to  play  the  samisen .  No  inscription  indicates  the 
allusion ;  it  was  unnecessary,  for  every  one  would  recognize  the  parallel 
to  the  emperor  seated  by  his  mistress  and  teaching  her  how  to  place  her 
fingers  on  the  flute. 

Even  the  classic  Chinese  landscape  themes  are — we  would  not  say 
travestied,  for  the  intention,  though  playful,  is  not  to  turn  to  ridicule — 
paralleled  rather,  in  domestic  life.  Every  one  who  has  studied  Chinese 
art  knows  the  Eight  Famous  Views,  motives  taken  originally  from  two 
lakes  in  China,  and  found  again  by  the  Japanese  in  the  Omi  Hak'kei  of 
their  own  Lake  Biwa.  Nothing  is  commoner  in  the  colour-prints  than  to 
find  one  of  **  Eight  Views  of  the  Day  ”  (or  some  such  title),  imitating  the 
“  Vesper  Bell  from  an  Evening  Temple/'  or  some  other  of  the  classic  eight 
motives.  If  Koryusai  draws  two  girls  sailing  toy-boats  in  a  basin,  it  makes 
a  pretty  perversion  of  the  **  Boats  returning  to  Yabase." 

Then  of  allusion  to  Japanese  historic  subjects  there  is  no  end.  Harunobu 
is  especially  fond  of  the  story  of  Komachi,  most  famous  of  the  old  poetesses 
of  Japan,  famous  for  her  wit,  her  beauty,  her  lovers,  in  her  youth,  and  for 
the  desolate  wanderings  of  her  old  age.  Once  he  portrays  her,  a  full- 
length  standing  figure,  in  the  fine  brocades  of  Fujiwara  times,  against  a 
background  of  blue.  In  that  print  there  is  no  hint  of  a  connection  with 

57 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


the  Ukiyoye  world.  But  for  the  chosen  “  seven  moments  ”  in  her  life, 
consecrated  by  traditional  art,  he  finds  some  situation  in  the  life  of  courtesan 
or  maidservant,  yet  treats  it  quite  seriously,  with  no  hint  of  burlesque. 
Such  allusiveness  is  common  to  most  of  the  masters  of  Ukiyo-ye,  but  it 
pervades  Harunobu's  work  more  than  that  of  any  of  the  others.  And 
how  many  of  his  prints  have  inscribed  above  them  a  poem  from  the  classic 
anthology  of  the  Hundred  Poets,  the  Hyaku-nin  Isshu ,  with  which  he 
links  his  idyll  of  the  day  !  Sometimes  the  allusion  is  an  occasion  for  fun, 
at  other  times  it  is  just  an  allusion  for  its  own  sake. 

To  all  this  we  have  hardly  a  counterpart  in  European  art.  The  attitude 
of  mind  of  an  Ukiyoye  painter  like  Harunobu  is  not  like  that  of,  say,  a 
Rowlandson,  whose  sense  of  grace  in  line  and  colour  finds  inexhaustible 
material  in  the  passing  scene,  but  whose  frank  enjoyment  of  human  nature 
is  contented  by  anything  that  life  presents  to  his  eye  just  for  its  own  sake  ; 
still  less  has  it  the  bitterness,  irony,  satire,  of  masters  like  Goya  or  Daumier. 
There  is  a  singular  absence  of  comment  or  criticism  in  the  Ukiyoye  attitude. 
Even  when  the  intention  is  playful,  the  drawing  itself  will  often  give  no 
hint  of  it.  If  we  seek  a  parallel,  we  might  find  it  perhaps  in  a  picture  like 
Manet's  **  Olimpia,"  where  the  intention  is  obviously  to  challenge  the 
Venuses  of  Titian  with  a  counterpart  from  real  and  contemporary  life, 
or  in  his  **  Dejeuner  sur  l'Herbe,"  where  the  composition  is  taken  **  word 
for  word  "  from  an  old  Italian  print,  but  a  river-god  leaning  on  his  trident 
has  become  a  Parisian  gentleman  sitting  on  the  grass  and  leaning  on  his 
cane. 

Truly  it  was  an  amazing  public,  this  public  of  artisans  and  small  shop¬ 
keepers,1  for  whom  these  colour-prints,  to  the  samurai  class  of  Japan  so 
vulgar,  to  us  so  exquisite,  were  made.  One  of  the  most  beautiful  of  all 
Harunobu's  pillar-prints  is  a  print  of  the  famous  highway-robber  Shirai 
Gompachi,  disguised  as  a  Komusot  with  the  big  basket-hat,  meant  to  cover 
the  face,  and  used  by  persons  wishing  to  conceal  their  identity,  in  one  hand, 
and  a  flute  in  the  other.  In  contemporary  England  Jack  Sheppard  was 
likewise  a  hero  of  the  populace ;  but  how  strange  an  apparition,  like  a 
creature  from  fairyland,  would  this  slim  feminine  youth,  refined  and 
serious,  make  in  Hogarth's  world  of  thieves  and  vagabonds  ! 

Towards  the  end  of  his  life  Harunobu  turned  more  frequently  to  the 
pillar-print,  and  in  this  shape  some  of  his  finest  designs  are  to  be  found. 

1  And  their  women-folk.  In  book-illustrations  of  publishers'  shops  women  are  seen 
examining  prints  and  books.  And  in  several  texts  there  are  references  to  women’s  taste 
for  actor-prints. 


58 


MEIWA  PERIOD:  FROM  1764  TO  1772 

He  had  made  some  experiments  in  two-sheet  composition,  but  does  not 
seem  to  have  been  happy  in  the  diptych  form,  though  we  note  his  experi¬ 
ments  as  a  stage  on  the  way  to  the  diptychs  and  three-sheet  designs  of 
Kiyonaga.  The  two-colour  “  triptychs  ”  were  printed  from  a  single  block, 
and  in  a  fair  number  of  examples  are  found  as  a  still  undivided  sheet ; 
they  form  a  set  of  three,  rather  than  a  design  thought  out  in  three  com¬ 
partments,  But  Harunobu's  diptychs  are,  like  some  rare  two-colour 
prints  in  oblong  shape,  composed  as  a  single  complete  design.  They  are 
very  rare,  but  possibly  more  exist  than  have  hitherto  been  suspected, 
since  each  sheet,  though  only  half  of  a  whole,  might  often  be  mistaken  for 
an  independent  design.  This  is  the  case  also  with  many  of  the  triptychs 
of  the  later  masters.  Examples  are  the  “  Girl  at  a  garden-gate  to  which  her 
lover  approaches,"  reproduced  in  the  Paris  V.l.  Catalogue,  Plate  XVII ; 
the  parallel  to  the  story  of  Kosekiko  and  Choryo — a  girl  picking  up  a  fan 
dropped  in  a  stream  by  her  lover  (ibid.,  Plate  XIV) ;  44  Osen  in  Kagiya 
Temple  grounds  ''  (ibid.,  Plate  XXII),  and  the  charming  print  of  girls 
shooting  darts  through  blow-pipes  at  a  target,  which  is  in  the  British 
Museum. 

But  this  horizontal  expansion  of  space  suited  Harunobu's  genius  less 
well  than  the  vertical  expansion  of  the  hashira-ye.  The  tall,  narrow  sheet 
was  a  challenge  to  invention ;  and  just  as  European  artists  have  found  a 
stimulus  to  invention  in  such  difficult  forms  as  the  spandrel,  Harunobu 
rejoiced  in  triumphing  over  the  contracted  limits  of  the  pillar-prints,  so 
that  if  we  place  a  blank  sheet  of  the  same  size  beside  one  of  these  com¬ 
positions  we  are  amazed  at  the  ingenuity  which  has  filled  the  space  so 
naturally  without  any  sense  of  cramping,  and  are  beguiled  into  the  illusion 
that  there  is  room  to  spare  in  a  form  that  it  would  have  seemed  almost 
impossible  to  fit  a  figure  in  with  any  ease.  The  grandeur  and  amplitude 
of  Masanobu's  big  hashira-ye  Harunobu  does  not  attain  or  aim  at ;  but 
he  knows  how  to  unite  dignity  of  form  with  exquisite  feeling. 

The  most  beautiful  print  of  Gompachi  has  been  already  mentioned,  and 
it  is  considered  by  some  to  be  Harunobu's  masterpiece.  There  we  note 
how  the  repetition  of  two  or  three  diagonal  lines  suffices  to  disguise  the 
extreme  narrowness  of  proportion.  In  another  hardly  less  beautiful  sheet 
a  girl  in  white  descends  some  steps  to  fetch  oil  for  the  lamp,  and  the 
red  diagonals  and  horizontals  of  the  steps  perform  the  same  function. 
In  another  print  it  is  the  lines  of  a  samisen  held  by  the  girl  who  is  tuning 
it.  A  fine  set  of  hashira-kake  is  the  set  of  Six  Tamagawa,  with  old  poems 
written  above  in  a  square,  and  on  a  smaller  panel  a  little  portrait  of  the 

59 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


poet.  To  this  set  belongs  another  and  a  later  “  Gompachi  disguised  as  a 
komusd  ”  in  which  that  fascinating  young  robber  and  lover  is  coming 
from  right  to  left  instead  of  from  left  to  right.  It  is  not  equal  to  the 
earlier  version,  missing  something  of  its  subtle  simplicity  and  supreme 
distinction. 

In  this  form  of  the  pillar-print  Koryusai  rivalled  and  even  surpassed  his 
friend. 

Koryusai  was  an  artist  of  rare  gift  who  was  unfortunate  in  being  over¬ 
shadowed  during  his  most  productive  years  by  the  genius  of  Harunobu. 
He  was  content  during  Meiwa  to  have  Harunobu  for  his  master,  and  to 
follow  him  so  closely  that  occasionally,  in  the  absence  of  a  signature,  one 
might  be  deceived.  But  he  is  never  wholly  dependent  on  Harunobu ; 
he  has  his  own  individuality,  felt  especially  in  his  colour-schemes.  Less 
delicate,  less  sensitive  as  a  draughtsman  than  Harunobu,  he  is  of  robuster 
fibre.  A  personal  note  in  his  colouring  is  the  vivid  rust-red  which  he  is 
so  fond  of  introducing  into  his  schemes,  sometimes  as  the  dominant  tint, 
as  if  he  craved  an  astringent  to  the  suave  harmonies  of  his  master.  He 
worked  the  same  vein  of  youthful  idyll  that  Harunobu  had  made  so 
popular,  and  designed  in  the  same  squarish  sheet.  But  in  the  hashira-kake 
he  seems  to  have  found  a  form  especially  congenial ;  and  whereas  Haru¬ 
nobu  rarely  ventured  to  bring  two  figures  into  the  narrow  design,  Koryusai 
often  did  this  with  complete  felicity. 

During  Meiwa  period  Harunobu  was,  as  we  have  said,  the  supreme 
master.  Even  so  great  an  artist  as  Koryusai  had  to  take  a  second  place.  All 
his  contemporaries,  old  and  young  alike,  fell  under  the  enchantment  of  his 
new  style.  The  Torii  line,  after  its  half-century  and  more  of  sustained 
and  prominent  effort,  was  in  temporary  eclipse.  Kiyomitsu  and  Kiyohiro 
made  no  serious  attempt  to  compete  in  the  new  manner ;  and  the  young 
Kiyotsune,  though  he  produced  a  certain  number  of  agreeable  prints  under 
Harunobu's  influence,  made  no  special  mark.  Another  veteran,  Toyonobu, 
designed  a  few  prints  early  in  Meiwa  quite  in  the  new  style — a  calendar- 
print  for  1765  is  in  the  British  Museum — as  did  also  Tanaka  Masunobu. 
But  the  race  was  now  to  the  young.  The  new-comer  Minko  has  already 
been  mentioned.  **  The  Fox's  Wedding  ”  set,  to  which  he  contributed, 
is  contemporary  with  Harunobu’s  first  prints  in  the  new  manner,  being 
published  as  a  calendar  for  1765.  Two  of  the  set  are  reproduced  in  the 
Danckwerts  sale  catalogue  (Sotheby,  July,  1914). 

Toyonobu's  pupil,  Toyomasa,  designed  some  attractive  prints,  his 

60 


ME  I W  A  PERIOD:  FROM  1764  TO  1772 

favourite  theme  being  the  games  of  children.  A  set  of  the  Twelve  Months, 
all  children  subjects,  is  his  best  known  work. 

But  next  to  Koryusai,  the  most  important  of  the  younger  generation  who 
made  a  name  during  Meiwa  are  Shunsho,  Toyoharu,  Shigemasa,  and 
Buncho.  We  find  the  first  three  of  these  collaborating  in  a  set  of  twelve 
prints,  four  of  which  are  reproduced  in  the  sale  catalogue  of  the  Blow 
Collection  (Sotheby,  July  2nd,  1912),  and  others  in  the  Danckwerts  sale 
catalogue  (Sotheby,  July,  1914).  One  by  Toyoharu  is  also  given  in  Von 
Seidlitz's  book  (English  edition,  p.  114).  Each  artist  contributed  four 
designs.  These  prints  are  curiously  composed,  being  divided  diagonally 
into  two  compartments,  the  upper  one  being  on  a  more  distant  plane, 
with  smaller  figures. 

Toyoharu,  founder  of  the  Utagawa  school,  later  to  play  a  prominent  part 
in  Ukiyo-ye,  was  less  under  the  influence  of  Harunobu  than  the  others. 
He  was  drawn  to  historic  subjects  and  to  topography  rather  than  to  idyllic 
and  domestic  scenes.  We  shall  have  more  to  say  of  him  in  the  next 
chapter. 

Shunsho  and  Shigemasa  were  also  both  drawn  to  the  heroic  legends  of 
their  country ;  to  such  famous  episodes  as  the  fight  in  the  sea-shallows 
between  the  beautiful  youth  Atsumori  and  the  old  warrior  Kumagaya, 
who  was  afterwards  to  repent  so  sorely  of  the  life  he  took  that  day ;  or 
again  the  feat  of  the  archer  Nasu-no-Yoichi,  who  shot  away  the  fan  from  the 
mast  of  the  Taira  ship  ;  or  the  rivalry  of  Kagesuye  and  Takatsuna  at  the 
fording  of  the  Uji  river.  But  both  Shunsho  and  Shigemasa  designed 
idyllic  scenes  in  the  Harunobu  manner,  sometimes  with  wonderful  success. 
There  is  a  beautiful  print  of  Gompachi  and  Komurasaki  reproduced  in 
Gookin's  catalogue  of  the  Chicago  Exhibition  in  1908  (No.  261),  in  which 
Shunsho  rivals  Harunobu.  We  reproduce  PI.  26  (2)  an  early  Shigemasa 
of  about  1766.  The  two  collaborated  in  the  well-known  “  Silk-worm  Set." 
This  set  of  twelve  prints,  closely  imitative  of  Harunobu,  is  in  the  style  of 
about  1767-1768,  though  it  was  published  as  a  picture-book  so  late  as 
1786.  This  friendly  rivalry  and  collaboration  was  continued  after 
Harunobu's  death  in  a  famous  book,  which  will  be  mentioned  in  its 
place  in  the  next  chapter. 

Meanwhile,  Shunsho's  special  line  was  already  being  developed.  The 
eclipse  of  the  Torii  had  left  an  open  field  in  the  theatrical  print.  And 
Shunsho  seized  the  opportunity.  As  early  as  1765  he  was  producing  actor- 
prints,  though  he  did  not  mature  his  style  or  show  the  full  vigour  of  his 
gift  till  Meiwa  was  ended.  But  by  1770  his  position  as  a  designer  of  actor- 

61 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


prints  was  well  established.  In  that  year  he  collaborated  with  Buncho 
in  publishing  one  of  the  most  important  picture-books  yet  produced,  the 
Yehon  Butai  Ogi,  in  which  the  actors'  bust  portraits  are  given  in  fan¬ 
shaped  panels. 

Though  Shunshd  was  to  be  the  most  eminent  and  prolific  actor-print 
designer  of  his  time,  during  Meiwa  it  was  Buncho  who  was  the  more 
interesting  and  distinguished  of  the  two. 

Kurth,  in  his  book  on  Harunobu,  reproduces  a  print  of  an  actor  and  an 
oiran  in  which  Harunobu  and  Buncho  collaborated,  the  girl  being  drawn 
by  the  former  and  the  actor  by  the  latter.  This  is  an  early  instance  of  a 
practice  which  later  became  more  common. 

Buncho  is,  of  course,  best  known  by  his  actor-prints  in  hoso-ye  size, 
though  he  published  also  a  certain  number  of  non- theatrical  prints,  in  the 
vein  of  Harunobu. 

Even  his  actor-prints  are  comparatively  rare.  All  his  work  has  a  peculiar 
fascination.  The  very  rare  print  which  we  reproduce  is  perhaps  Buncho's 
masterpiece,  unless  a  preference  be  given  to  that  other  portrait  of  Kikunojd, 
the  actor  famous  as  a  player  of  feminine  parts  on  the  stage,  walking  all  in 
white  on  the  bank  of  a  stream  under  snow-laden  willow-boughs.  This 
other  print  is  reproduced  in  colour  in  the  Paris  catalogues. 

Buncho's  figures  are  taller  than  Harunobu's  and  supremely  elegant  in 
their  pliant  attitudes  and  fluid  lines.  He  was  a  wonderful  colourist,  being 
fond  of  unusual  combinations  in  which  a  vivid  grass-green,  foiled  with 
white,  often  played  part.  The  Kikunojd  here  reproduced  (PI.  4)  is  superb 
in  poise  and  swing,  and  in  the  contrast  of  the  red  and  yellow  asters  with 
the  deep  black  of  the  background. 

Buncho  worked  on  for  some  years  after  Harunobu's  death — a  print  by 
him  of  Onoye  Matsusuke  as  Muneto  in  disguise  can  be  dated  1778-1779 — 
but  his  main  activity  seems  to  have  been  in  the  latter  years  of  Meiwa. 

Some  essays  in  the  theatrical  field  were  now  being  made  by  the  youthful 
Kiyonaga,  Kiyomitsu's  adopted  son  ;  but  these  efforts  to  uphold  the  Torii 
tradition  look  weak  and  timid  beside  Shunsho's  and  Buncho's  work. 
Kiyonaga  also  followed  Harunobu  in  domestic  scenes,  though  no  one 
could  have  divined  as  yet  his  future  power. 

If  Shiba  Kokan  was  the  author  of  all  the  prints  signed  Harushige,  as 
presumably  is  the  case,  he  was  a  singularly  skilful  imitator  of  Harunobu's 
manner.  Some  of  the  Harushige  prints  are  beautiful  and,  so  far  as  we  can 
tell,  show  independent  invention.  Certain  characteristics  found  in  these 
prints — a  long  nose,  and  an  exaggerated  slenderness  of  figure — seem  to 

62 


MEIWA  PERIOD:  FROM  1764  TO  1772 

mark  some  of  the  prints  signed  Harunobu  as  forgeries  by  Kdkan.  But 
this  is  a  problem  on  which  there  will  probably  always  be  difference  of 
opinion.  What  we  can  be  reasonably  sure  of  is  that  the  internal  evidence 
of  Shiba  Kokan's  hand  is  not  to  be  found  (as  some  have  thought)  in  semi- 
European  conventions  of  foliage,  for  it  was  not  till  Temmei  period  that  he 
began  to  study  from  the  Dutch. 

Towards  the  end  of  Meiwa  we  find  a  new  influence  coming  into  Ukiyo-ye, 
and,  though  not  affecting  its  general  character,  enlarging  its  range  with 
new  motives  and  a  new  manner. 

Harunobu  definitely  aimed  at  lifting  Ukiyoye  art  to  a  rivalry  with  classic 
painting ;  and  in  Japan  there  is  no  reference  to  the  classics  without  a 
reference  to  China.  Beside  all  the  multitude  of  his  idyllic  scenes  we  find 
a  certain  number  of  prints  which  are  not  strictly  Ukiyoye  subjects  at  all, 
but  are  designs  of  flowers  and  birds  with  a  suggestion  of  landscape.  In 
these  Koryusai  competed  with  him.  Some  are  unsigned,  and  it  is  doubtful 
in  some  cases  to  which  master  they  should  be  attributed.  These  designs 
follow  the  Chinese  tradition,  revived  among  a  group  of  Kyoto  painters 
who  were  stimulated  by  the  settlement  of  a  Chinese  artist  at  Nagasaki  in 
1731.  It  is  noteworthy  that  Shiba  Kokan  in  his  Confessions  tells  us  that 
he  expressly  imitated  the  famous  and  popular  Chinese  genre  painters  of 
the  16th  century,  Chou  Ying  and  Chou  Ch'en.  Already  in  the  time  of  the 
hand-coloured  print  we  find  occasional  experiments  by  Okumura  Masanobu 
and  Shigenaga  in  flower- and -bird  motives,  but  these  were  tentative  and 
crude,  and  not  be  to  compared  with  the  prints  we  are  now  considering. 
And  it  is  not  merely  an  imitation  of  Chinese  painting  that  we  find  in 
Harunobu  and  Koryusai,  it  is  an  imitation  of  Chinese  colour-prints.  The 
well-known  and  exquisite  print  of  a  “  Vase  of  Flowers  with  a  rising  Moon,” 
by  Harunobu  (unsigned),  is  certainly  of  Chinese  inspiration,  though  the 
idiom  is  Japanese.  We  are  reminded  of  the  brilliant  set  of  Chinese  colour- 
prints,  printed  in  many  colours  on  a  white  paper  and  with  richly  embossed 
effects,  best  known  from  the  examples  which  have  been  in  the  British 
Museum  since  its  foundation,  and  were  bought  by  Sir  Hans  Sloane  with  the 
collections  made  by  Kaempfer,  the  historian  of  Japan. 

But  in  certain  naga-ye  we  get  even  closer  to  Chinese  prototypes.  A 
hashira-kake,  by  Harunobu,  reproduced  in  the  Paris  V.I.  Catalogue , 
Plate  X,  No.  no,  is  a  Chinese  landscape  and  imitates  a  Chinese  woodcut. 
But  the  most  beautiful  of  these  pillar-prints  are  kakemono-ye  by  Koryusai. 
As  these  were  probably  produced  in  Anyei  period,  after  Harunobu's  death, 
we  will  return  to  them  in  the  next  chapter. 

63 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


On  the  other  hand,  two  pillar-prints  of  falcons  attributed  to  Koryusai 
in  the  Hamilton  Easter  Field  collection,  sold  in  1922  in  New  York,  are 
in  all  probability  not  Japanese  at  all,  but  Chinese.  Two  very  similar  prints 
are  in  Mr.  Bateson's  collection  in  London ;  they  were  bought  at  a  sale 
of  Chinese  prints,  and  have  been  pronounced  quite  definitely  to  be  Chinese 
work  by  Japanese  connoisseurs.  When  placed  side  by  side  with  Koryusai's 
work,  the  difference  is  quite  perceptible,  though  difficult  to  describe  in 
words. 

The  technique  of  these  prints  is  peculiar,  being  based  on  the  ishi-zuri  or 
stone-print.  This  does  not  necessarily  mean  printed  from  stone.  The 
Chinese,  from  remote  times,  have  been  accustomed,  when  a  picture  was 
falling  into  decay,  to  preserve  the  design  by  incising  it  on  stone.  Rubbings 
were  taken  from  the  stone  and  served  the  purpose  of  reproductions  made 
by  engraving.  Some  ishi-zuri  may  have  been  printed  from  engraved 
stones  ;  but  wood  was  obviously  a  much  more  convenient  medium ;  and 
ishi-zuri  generally  means  a  woodcut  made  in  imitation  of  a  rubbing  from 
incised  stone.  The  rubbing  made  on  thin  paper  had  certain  peculiarities 
which  were  imitated  in  this  kind  of  woodcut,  for  which  a  technique  of  its 
own  was  developed. 

In  its  simplest  form  the  u  stone-print  ”  is  a  print  in  which  the  design  is 
in  white  on  a  black  ground.  Examples  of  such  are  found  among  the 
Primitives,  as  we  have  seen  already  (pp.  24  and  34),  in  the  work  of 
Masanobu  and  Shigenaga. 

But  the  later  coloured  ishi-zuri  become  much  more  elaborate.  The 
process  has  been  described  in  an  article  by  the  late  Mr.  Wilson  Crewdson, 
Chairman  of  the  London  Japan  Society,  in  an  article  in  the  Studio ,  May, 
1914.  After  the  wood  had  been  incised,  so  that  the  design  would  show 
white  on  black  if  printed,  a  very  thin  sheet  of  paper  was  damped,  laid  on 
the  block  and  pressed  into  the  hollows  made  by  the  engraver.  But  instead 
of  the  wood-block  receiving  the  colour,  as  in  the  ordinary  process,  it  was 
the  surface  of  the  paper  to  which  the  colour  or  ink  was  applied,  with  a  pad, 
not  with  a  brush.  The  design  itself  did  not  take  the  colour,  because  it  was 
pressed  below  the  surface  of  the  block  into  the  engraved  hollows  and 
escaped  the  application  of  the  pad ;  it  remained  white.  When  the  thin 
paper  was  taken  up,  it  showed  the  design  standing  out  in  white  with  a 
raised  and  crinkled  edge  to  the  white  lines  where  the  paper  had  been 
pressed  into  the  block.  It  was  then  laid  down  on  thicker  paper. 

Before  we  take  leave  of  Meiwa,  and  of  Harunobu's  exquisite  April  world, 
let  us  mention  a  noteworthy  print  which  must  be  assigned  to  about  1770, 

64 


ME  I W  A  PERIOD:  FROM  1764  TO  1772 

This  is  a  triptych  by  Shunsho  of  a  scene  from  the  Civil  Wars  ;  warriors 
fighting  outside  the  walls  of  Kurosaki  Castle.  An  example  is  in  the  British 
Museum  collection.  It  is  remarkable  because  it  is  not  one  of  the  small 
hoso-ye  triptychs,  but  a  composition  on  three  full-sized  sheets.  It  has 
hitherto  been  assumed  that  Kiyonaga  was  the  first  to  design  these  full- 
sized  triptychs  in  the  i78o's.  But  this  print  by  Shunsho  bears  the  form  of 
signature  which  he  used  about  1770 ;  it  also  bears  the  inscription  Ukiye 
sammai  tsuzuki  (three-sheet  perspective  picture)  on  the  first  sheet,  and  on 
each  of  the  others  the  words  One  of  three  ;  which  points  to  its  being  an 
innovation.  We  shall  see  that  with  the  next  period,  Anyei,  the  larger  size 
of  single  sheet  comes  into  fashion ;  but  that  triptychs  of  this  size  were 
designed  so  early  has  not  been  suspected.  Naturally  for  heroic  subjects 
the  large  sheets  were  more  fitted  than  the  small  sheets  preferred  by  Haru- 
nobu ;  and  it  seems  probable  that  Shunsho's  triptych  was  the  precursor 
of  other  compositions  of  similar  subjects,  anticipating  Kiyonaga,  though 
perhaps  only  known  at  present  in  their  divided  state  as  single  sheets. 


65 


F 


CHAPTER  V 
ANYEI  PERIOD 

FEBRUARY  4th,  1772,  TO  JANUARY  23RD,  1781 


CHAPTER  V 


ANYEI  PERIOD 

FEBRUARY  4TH,  1772,  TO  JANUARY  23RD,  1781 

The  prints  of  Anyei,  as  compared  with  those  of  Meiwa,  present  some 
striking  differences.  There  is  a  great  increase  in  the  number  of  pillar- 
prints,  chiefly  due  to  the  partiality  of  Koryusai  for  this  format.  The  square, 
medium-size  print  ( shikaku-ye )  gives  place  to  the  large,  upright  print 
( Oban  tate-ye) ;  and  the  superfine  hosho  paper  is  no  longer  in  use.  The 
human  figure  assumes  a  robust  type,  far  removed  from  the  fragile  models 
affected  by  Harunobu  and  his  contemporaries.  A  radical  change  takes 
place  in  the  women's  coiffure,  brought  about  by  the  use  of  a  contrivance 
called  binsashi,  a  flexible  piece  of  metal,  tortoise-shell,  or  bamboo  inserted 
into  the  hair  so  as  to  expand  the  bin  or  side-locks  on  either  side  of  the 
head.  This  method  of  hair-dressing  was  known  as  Torobin  or  lantern  side- 
locks,  from  its  supposed  resemblance  to  the  toro  or  lantern  made  of  paper 
stretched  on  a  bamboo  frame.  It  formed  an  admirable  setting  to  the 
face ;  and  much  of  the  charm  of  the  Shunsho,  Shigemasa,  and  Koryusai 
drawings  of  women  at  this  period  is  due  to  this.  In  the  print  by  Shiko 
(II  0  reproduced  on  Plate  41,  the  binsashi  is  held  by  the  girl  seated  on  the 
left  between  the  thumb  and  forefinger  of  her  right  hand.  The  charming 
effect  of  the  Torobin  coiffure  may  be  conveniently  studied  in  the  famous 
and  delightful  coloured  picture-book  by  Shigemasa  and  Shunsho,  jointly 
published  in  the  1st  month  of  1776  under  the  title  Seiro  bijin  awase  sugata 
kagami,  by  Yamazaki  Kimbei  and  Tsutaya  Jusaburo,  who  under  his  do-go 
of  Koshodo  contributed  the  preface,  from  which  the  following  excerpt  is 
taken.  “  There  is  an  obscure  Chinese  saying  to  the  effect  that  in  painting 
the  background  is  everything.  Now  though  this  may  be  true  regarding 
Chinese  pictures,  yet  the  tastes  of  artists  vary  as  the  ages  roll  by.  Thus 
is  it  that  in  Japanese  pictures  the  great  masters  of  the  three  principal  cities 
have  ever  painted  the  fashions  of  costume  and  hair-dressing  prevalent  at 
each  age,  which  pass  as  rapidly  as  does  an  infant  growing  to  manhood. 
Here  in  these  three  volumes  of  Snow,  Moon,  and  Flowers,  which  I  have 
entitled  A  Mirror  of  Rival  Beauties ,  the  two  flourishing  artists  of  the  day 
— Kitao  and  Katsukawa — labouring  with  brush  and  palette,  have  with 
indefatigable  zeal  depicted  the  graceful  forms  of  the  courtesans  of  the 
Enclosure  (i.e.  the  Yoshiwara)  as  they  appear  when  on  promenade  or  within 
the  precincts  of  their  elegant  chambers.  I  have  ordered  their  pictures  to 
be  engraved,  not  only  as  a  permanent  record  of  their  art,  but  also  in  the 

69 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


hope  that  the  book  will  cause  my  house  to  flourish  even  as  flourished  the 
flowering  cherry  tree  from  which  the  blocks  were  made."  It  is  note¬ 
worthy  that  both  in  the  preface  and  at  the  end  of  the  book  precedence  was 
accorded  to  Shigemasa,  though  he  was  thirteen  years  junior  to  Shunsho. 
The  reason  was  that  the  younger  man  was  considered  by  his  contem¬ 
poraries  to  be  the  greater  artist,  except  in  the  realm  of  stage  portraiture, 
in  which  Shunsho  was  acknowledged  as  pre-eminent.  A  contemporary 
engraver  named  Yegawa  Hachizayemon  has  left  on  record  that  u  though 
Shunsho  was  pre-eminent  in  his  own  special  sphere  of  portraiture  of 
actors  in  character,  yet  he  was  less  versed  in  the  laws  of  general  painting 
than  Shigemasa,  from  whom  he  was  ever  ready  to  seek  advice  and  receive 
instruction."  The  Mirror  of  Rival  Beauties  of  the  Green  Houses  was 
published  when  Tsuta-ju,  as  Tsutaya  Jusaburo  was  popularly  called,  was 
a  small  bookseller  near  the  great  entrance  gate  of  the  New  Yoshiwara.  As 
this  remarkable  man  was  destined  to  play  a  leading  part  in  the  fortunes  of 
both  Ukiyo-ye  and  Literature  till  death  overtook  him  in  1797  at  the  early 
age  of  forty- eight,  it  is  fitting  that  a  brief  account  of  his  career  should  find 
place  here.  His  birth  took  place  at  Yedo  in  1750.  His  real  name  was 
Maruyama  Kari  (may  be  also  pronounced  Karamaru),  the  first  of  which 
he  changed  to  Ki-ta-gawa.  He  was  a  man  of  great  enterprise  and  no  mean 
scholar  ;  and  possessed  in  a  marked  degree  the  gift  of  recognizing  genius. 
Thus  it  came  about  that  he  gathered  around  his  humble  abode  young  men 
of  talent,  who  for  one  reason  or  another  had  fallen  on  evil  days,  and  who 
were  willing  to  work  for  him  alone  in  return  for  food,  raiment,  and  lodging. 
Chief  amongst  these  were  Bakin,  Shokusanjin,  Kyoden,  and  Toyoaki — 
afterwards  Utamaro  ;  all  of  whom  but  for  his  insight  and  encouragement 
would  probably  have  been  lost  to  Literature  and  Art. 

He  it  was,  too,  who  first  published  the  works  of  Choki,  and  who  was  the 
sole  publisher  of  Sharaku’s  designs. 

As  a  writer  and  humorous  versifier  he  called  himself  Tsuta  no  Karamaru, 
which  latter  is  occasionally  found,  modified  to  Karamaro,  imprinted  in 
seal  form  on  some  of  his  publications ;  as  is  also  his  do-go  of  Koshodo.  In 
the  9th  month  of  Temmei  3,  he  removed  to  Tori  Abura-cho,  where  he 
had  purchased  the  commodious  premises  and  godowns  of  the  old  firm  of 
Maruya  Kohei ;  and  from  that  time  forward  he  imprinted  on  his  publica¬ 
tions  his  trade-mark  of  an  ivy  leaf  surmounted  by  a  triple  peak.  After  his 
death,  the  firm  was  carried  on  by  his  head  clerk  during  the  minority  of  his 
heir ;  but,  though  it  lasted  till  the  middle  of  the  19th  century  at  a  new 
address,  it  gradually  sank  into  a  comparatively  insignificant  position. 

70 


AN  YE  I  PERIOD:  FROM  1772  TO  1781 

Two  other  publishers,  who  by  their  refined  taste  and  business  acumen, 
did  much  to  foster  Ukiyo-ye  during  this  and  subsequent  periods,  were 
Senkwakudo  Tsuruya  Kiyemon  and  Yeijudo  Nishimuraya  Yohachi.  The 
former  was  the  scion  of  a  very  old  Kyoto  family  of  joruri  (kind  of  musical 
drama)  booksellers,  who  established  a  branch  in  Yedo  during  the  Yempo 
period  (1673-1681)  in  the  Odemma-chd.  One  of  the  earliest  known  prints 
issued  by  this  firm  was  a  twelve-sheet  composition  showing  the  arrival  of 
the  Korean  Embassy  in  Yedo,  the  7th  sheet  of  which  is  reproduced  (PI.  19). 

It  was  not,  however,  till  the  present  proprietor  took  over  the  business 
that  Ukiyoye  prints  were  issued  by  him  in  large  numbers.  Yeijudo  was 
born  about  1720,  and  started  as  a  wholesale  publisher  at  an  early  age  ; 
one  of  his  first  prints  being  a  hoso-urushi-ye  by  Kiyomasu  of  the  actor 
Segawa  Kikujiro  as  the  courtesan  Katsuragi,  issued  at  the  close  of  1740 
(see  PI.  22). 

About  1790,  an  excellent  portrait  of  the  old  man  at  the  age  of  seventy-one 
was  designed  by  Toyokuni  I  and  published  by  himself.  Date  of  his  death 
and  that  of  Senkwakudo  are  unrecorded. 

Prints  issued  by  these  three  publishers  are  remarkable  for  the  high 
standard  of  engraving  and  printing. 

During  Anyei,  Buncho,  Shunsho,  Shigemasa,  and  Koryusai  were  at  the 
height  of  their  powers.  Kiyotsune  continued  to  design  a  few  actors  in 
character ;  but  his  pupils  Kiyosato  and  Kiyohisa  appear  to  have  ceased  work. 

Katsukawa  Shunko,  Shunsho's  first  pupil,  was  born  in  1743.  His  family 
name  was  Kiyokawa ;  his  personal  name  is  unrecorded.  He  worked 
from  1771  till  the  autumn  of  1791,  when  palsy  deprived  him  of  the  use  of 
his  right  arm,  and  compelled  him  to  give  up.  Shaving  his  head,  he  became 
a  lay  bonze  in  the  Zenshoji  monastery  at  Asakusa.  He  used  a  jar-shaped 
seal  enclosing  the  character  Hayashi  after  the  example  of  his  master  ; 
sometimes,  instead  of  Hayashi  we  find  the  ideograph  Ki  which  is  really 
one  half  of  the  former  character.  He  died  on  December  1st,  1812,  aged 
seventy  years.  There  is  a  painting  on  a  fusuma  (paper  sliding-screen)  by 
him  in  the  above  monastery,  inscribed  “  Drawn  by  Shunko  with  his  left 
hand  at  the  age  of  fifty-seven/' 

In  the  beginning  of  Anyei,  Toriyama  Sekiyen  devised  a  method  of 
gradation  colour-printing  called  Fuki-bokashi  no  saishiki-zuri,  which  he 
first  applied  in  practice  to  a  two-volume  folio  book  entitled  Sekiyen  gwafu 
(alternative  title,  Toriyama  Hiko ),  which  appeared  in  1773.  This  method 
was  but  rarely  resorted  to  during  the  remainder  of  the  18th  century  ;  but 
it  was  largely  employed,  by  Hokusai  and  Hiroshige  especially,  during  the 

7i 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


next  century.  The  grading  was  effected  by  a  judicious  wiping  of  the  block 
upon  which  the  colour  had  been  spread.  Sekiyen  also  illustrated  a  series 
of  books,  each  of  three  volumes  (in  which  he  applied  the  fuki-bokashi 
method  to  monochrome),  under  the  generic  title  of  Hyakki-yagiyd ,  dealing 
with  the  night  wanderings  of  demons.  These  appeared  in  1776, 1779, 1781, 
and  1784 ;  and  in  all,  as  well  as  in  the  Sekiyen  gwafu ,  Shiko  is  described 
as  his  pupil.  This  is  the  artist  who  about  1788  changed  his  name  to  Choki. 
The  problem  surrounding  the  name  of  Shiko  is  discussed  in  a  separate 
essay  (Note  C). 

Sekiyen  was  born  at  Yedo  in  1713,  his  real  name  being  Sano  Toyofusa. 
He  was  taught  painting  by  a  Kano  artist  named  Gyokuyen  Chikanobu, 
from  whom  he  received  the  brush-name  of  Sekiyen.  About  the  beginning 
of  the  Horeki  era  (1751)  he  turned  his  attention  to  Ukiyo-ye,  and  created 
a  stir  by  offering  as  an  ex-voto  to  a  temple  a  painting  of  the  actor  Nakamura 
Kiyosaburo,  famous  for  his  impersonations  of  women.  This  he  signed 
Toriyama  Sekiyen,  the  former  being  the  art  surname  ( geisei )  which  he  had 
adopted.  About  1700  he  established  a  school  in  which  he  taught  Ukiyo-ye 
and  Haikai  (seventeen-syllable  poetry).  Amongst  his  pupils  were  Shiko, 
above-mentioned,  and  Toyoaki.  He  died  on  September  2nd,  1788,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-six,  and  was  buried  in  the  cemetery  of  Shinkomyo-ji, 
Asakusa.  On  his  tombstone  was  engraved  his  art  surname,  Toriyama,  his 
art  personal  name  Sekiyen,  and  his  real  family  or  surname  Sano.  He 
designed  no  ichimai-ye . 

Toyoaki  (Utamaro),  whose  real  name  was  Kita-gawa  Yusuke,  was  born 
according  to  some  authorities  in  1753,  according  to  others  in  1754 ;  but 
as  the  age  at  which  he  died  is  not  recorded  in  the  register  of  deceased 
parishioners  ( kwakocho )  kept  at  the  temple  at  which  he  used  to  worship, 
it  is  uncertain  which  of  these  dates  is  correct.  Most  authorities,  however, 
incline  to  the  former.  His  birthplace  is  also  uncertain ;  some  say  that  it 
was  Kawagoye  in  the  province  of  Musashi.  Whether  this  is  true  or  not, 
it  is  certain  that,  as  some  biographers  state,  he  was  not  born  at  Yedo, 
whither  he  was  brought  at  a  tender  age  by  his  mother,  then  a  widow.  His 
father's  name  is  not  known  ;  but  the  fact  that  it  is  not  recorded  in  the 
kwakocho  alongside  that  of  his  mother  and  himself  shows  that  he  was  not 
residing  at  Yedo  at  the  time  of  his  death.  It  has  been  said  that  his  mother, 
unable  to  support  the  boy,  entrusted  him  to  the  care  of  Sekiyen,  with  a 
view  to  his  being  eventually  trained  as  an  artist.  Certainly  Sekiyen's 
postscript  to  Utamaro's  Yehon  Mushi  erabi ,  written  in  the  winter  of  1788, 
makes  it  probable  that  this  statement  is  correct. 

72 


u 


AN  YE  I  PERIOD:  FROM  1772  TO  1781 

To  form  pictures/'  writes  Sekiyen,  “  of  living  things  in  the  mind  and 
then  to  transfer  them  to  paper  with  the  brush  is  the  true  art  of  Painting. 
My  pupil  Utamaro,  in  depicting  these  insects,  has  produced  4  pictures 
from  his  heart/  I  remember  how  Uta-shi  in  his  childhood  acquired  the 
habit  of  observing  the  most  minute  details  of  living  creatures  ;  and  I  used 
to  notice  how  absorbed  he  would  become  when  playing  with  a  dragon-fly 
tied  to  a  string  or  with  a  cricket  held  in  the  palm  of  his  hand.  Often¬ 
times  had  I  to  caution  him,  fearful  lest  he  might  take  their  lives.  In 
presenting  us  with  these  tokens  of  his  mature  talent,  his  brush  has  become 
famous.  .  .  ” 

It  will  be  seen  that  Sekiyen  distinctly  states  that  Utamaro  was  his  pupil, 
whom  he  had  known  as  a  child  and  whom  he  calls  Uta-shi — a  term  of 
respect  rather  than  one  of  endearment. 

Neither  claimed  any  blood-relationship,  and  there  seems  to  have  been 
none  ;  certainly  not  that  of  father  and  son  as  has  been  put  forward.  The 
facts  that  their  family  names  were  different  and  that  they  were  buried  in 
different  cemeteries  negative  any  such  theory.  Even  supposing  there  had 
been  a  quarrel,  as  some  have  asserted,  resulting  in  the  expulsion  of  Toyoaki 
from  the  paternal  roof,  the  eulogistic  manner  in  which  Sekiyen  speaks  of 
his  pupil  proves  that  the  quarrel  had  been  long  forgotten  and  that  the 
pair  were  then — some  nine  months  previous  to  Sekiyen's  death — on  the 
best  of  terms  ;  and  hence  there  could  have  been  no  obstacle  to  their  inter¬ 
ment  in  the  same  burial-ground.  About  the  middle  of  Anyei,  Toyoaki 
was  received  into  his  house  near  the  Omonguchi,  Shin  Yoshiwara,  by 
Tsutaju  as  a  kakari-bito  or  dependent ;  and  some  time  during  1779,  he 
adopted  as  his  art  surname  the  family  name  of  his  protector,  namely 
Ki-ta-gawa,  and  as  his  art  personal  name  Uta-maro,  doubtless  derived 
from  Tsutaju's  go  of  Kara-maro.  One  of  his  last  prints  under  the  name 
of  Kita-gawa  Toyoaki  represents  the  fifth  Ichikawa  Danjuro  in  the  role 
of  Arakawataro  Makezu  in  the  play  “  Date  nishiki-tsui  no  yumitori," 
produced  at  the  Morita  theatre  in  the  winter  of  Anyei  7.  Utamaro  has 
been  described  as  a  debauchee ;  partly  perhaps  from  the  fact  that  he 
selected  his  models  of  women  frequently  from  the  licensed  quarters,  and 
partly  on  account  of  his  alleged  portrait  in  the  British  Museum  painted  by 
Yeishi,  in  which  he  is  depicted  as  an  old  worn-out  roue.  There  is  little 
doubt  that  this  is  in  reality  a  portrait  of  his  undistinguished  follower 
Baigado  Utamaro  II ;  for  not  only  was  it  painted  nine  years  after  the 
death  of  the  first  Utamaro,  but  a  second  painting  by  Yeishi  representing 
him  as  he  doubtless  was  has  come  to  light.  His  face  and  figure  show  none 

73 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


of  the  repellent  and  bloated  appearance  of  the  British  Museum  painting. 
He  is,  on  the  contrary,  represented  as  an  intelligent,  middle-aged  man, 
seated  with  his  hands  on  his  lap,  his  left  grasping  a  rosary.  It  is  evidently 
a  memorial  portrait ;  and,  though  it  bears  no  date,  was  assuredly  executed 
soon  after  his  death  on  the  31st  of  October,  1806.  It  is  common  know¬ 
ledge  that  the  licensed  quarters  were  visited  by  writers  and  artists  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  material  for  their  work  unobtainable  elsewhere. 

The  novelettes  and  Ukiyoye  prints  were  written  and  designed  for  the 
middle  and  lower  classes ;  and  courtesans,  actors,  geisha ,  wrestlers,  and 
tea-house  beauties  naturally  provided  the  material  necessary  for  such 
works.  Turn  to  the  last  plate  of  the  artist's  famous  two-volume  book, 
Seiro  nenju  gyo-jit  or  “  Transactions  in  the  Green  Houses  all  the  Year 
Around,"  where  he  depicts  himself  painting  the  Ho-6  (Chinese  phoenix), 
palette  in  one  hand,  brush  in  the  other,  on  his  knees  and  surrounded  by 
the  materials  of  his  art — a  man  intent  on  his  work,  earnest  and  painstaking. 
The  great  artist  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  burial-ground  of  the  Buddhist  temple 
Senkwo-ji,  Kita-matsuyama-cho,  Asakusa,  under  the  posthumous  name 
( ho-myo )  of  Shuyen  Ryokyo  shin-ji. 

In  the  register  of  deceased  parishioners,  his  name  follows  soon  after  that 
of  his  mother,  whose  ho-myo  was  Risei  shin-nyo,  and  who  was  buried  on 
the  2nd  of  November,  1790. 

Harunobu's  death  in  1770  left  an  immense  gap  in  Ukiyo-ye.  Who  was 
left  to  take  his  place  i  There  were  three  outstanding  masters  at  the 
beginning  of  Anyei  who  were  each  of  them  brilliantly  gifted  ;  Koryusai, 
Shigemasa,  and  Shunsho.  At  any  moment  it  seemed  as  if  one  of  these 
might  forge  ahead,  create  a  new  type  of  print  and  open  a  new  chapter  in 
Ukiyo-ye. 

But  for  a  few  years  nothing  novel  appeared.  Harunobu's  idyllic  vein  was 
almost  exhausted.  What  was  wanted  was  a  new  direction  such  as  Haru- 
nobu  himself  had  given  to  Meiwa ;  and  this  was  lacking.  There  was  a 
sort  of  lull. 

By  1776  a  new  type  of  face  and  figure  had  come  into  fashion,  as  we  see 
from  the  famous  book  by  Shigemasa  and  Shunsho,  published  in  that 
year,  which  is  the  chief  landmark  of  the  period.  This  shows  a  great 
change  from  the  types  of  the  end  of  Meiwa.  When  did  this  change  come 
about i 

In  his  recently  published  book  on  Shunsho,  Herr  Succo  has  reproduced 
two  actor-prints,  dated,  as  sometimes  happens,  in  contemporary  hand- 

74 


AN  YE  I  PERIOD:  FROM  1772  TO  1781 

writing.  One  is  dated  Anyei  2  or  1773,  the  other  Anyei  3  or  1774.  The 
latter  represents  an  actor  playing  a  woman,  and  we  see  from  this  that  the 
hair  is  dressed  much  as  in  Meiwa,  though  fuller  at  the  sides.  The  new 
style  with  the  bin-sashi ,  described  above,  has  not  yet  come  in.  We  may 
presume  that  it  was  introduced  in  1775. 

To  these  first  four  or  five  years  of  Anyei  belong  most  of  Koryusai's  finest 
pillar-prints,  as  well  as  the  set  of  small  prints  called  Furyu  Joro  Hakkei, 
and  such  prints  of  medium  size  as  the  sets  Meicho  Zashiki  Hakkei ,  Eight 
Views  of  interiors,  each  with  a  bird  ;  and  the  set  Furyu  Goji  Hajime . 

In  each  of  these  sets  there  are  charming  compositions,  in  which  one 
sees  occasional  symptoms  already  of  a  feeling  for  an  ampler  sweep  of 
line. 

But  Koryusai's  pillar-prints  and  kakemono-ye  are  the  special  glories  of 
this  time.  The  “  Parting  of  Atsumori  from  his  Mistress  ”  is  one  of  the 
earliest  prints  of  Anyei  period.  Here  Koryusai's  expression  of  emotion 
is  unusually  eloquent.  The  young  warrior  in  his  armour  and  with  a 
quiver  full  of  arrows  at  his  back,  but  bare-headed,  stands  looking  sorrow¬ 
fully  down  on  the  girl  Tama-ori,  who  has  sunk  on  one  knee  at  his  feet. 
She  turns  away  her  head,  but  with  one  small  hand  she  takes  hold  of  the 
great  horned  helmet  which  her  lover  was  about  to  put  on,  detaining  it  in 
spite  of  his  protest.  Within  the  narrow  space  of  the  hashira-ye,  the  two 
figures  are  beautifully  and  tenderly  related,  each  having  a  hand  on  the 
helmet  in  the  middle  of  it,  and  form  a  natural  group,  while  the  design 
is  a  rich  interplay  of  lines  and  colours. 

Of  about  the  same  time  is  a  design  of  noble  simplicity,  **  The  Young 
Poet  by  the  Sea,"  a  youthful  figure  in  blue  and  slaty  purple  seated  on  a 
red  balcony  above  the  sea.  A  pine  tree  thrusts  up  from  below  the  balcony  ; 
distant  sails  are  on  the  water  ;  the  broad  sun  is  rising  red  out  of  mist.  The 
youth  with  raised  writing-brush  looks  out  in  reverie. 

Even  more  beautiful,  perhaps,  and  exquisite  in  sentiment,  is  the  print 
of  two  young  lovers  praying  with  raised  hands  at  sunrise  as  they  stand  on 
the  seashore.  It  is  a  sort  of  parallel  to  the  “  Ancient  Couple  of  Takasago," 
the  theme  of  a  famous  No  play.  Here  it  seems  as  if  no  other  shape  than 
this  tall  narrow  one  could  have  been  possible  for  the  subject,  so  happily 
does  it  conspire  with  the  mood  evoked.  The  long  lines  of  dresses  and 
figures  seem  to  flow  upwards,  like  smoke  in  still  air. 

Others  of  these  hashira-ye  might  be  mentioned,  to  illustrate  Koryusai's 
singular  felicity  in  inventing  motives  for  this  form. 

Probably  to  this  time  also  belong  some  magnificent  kakemono-ye  in 

75 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


Chinese  style.  In  the  last  chapter  we  mentioned  some  experiments  in 
landscape  in  this  style  by  Harunobu.  In  the  ishi-zuri  technique  is  a 
striking  kakemono-ye,  signed  by  Koryusai,  of  the  44  Fight  between  the 
Dragon  and  the  Tiger."  The  dragon  sweeps  down  out  of  great  swirls 
of  inky  cloud,  and  the  tiger  leaps  up  to  attack  him  from  the  shore  of  a  sea, 
the  blue  waves  of  which  are  shrouded  by  the  shadowy  cloud  from  which 
the  dragon  emerges.  But  in  the  finest  of  these  large  prints  Koryusai  uses 
a  mixed  method.  For  example,  in  the  **  Hawk  on  a  Rock,"  reproduced  in 
colours  (PI.  5),  the  bird  is  designed  in  the  ordinary  way  in  black  on 
white,  while  the  rock  and  the  water  are  designed  in  white  on  black.  This 
splendid  print,  like  the  “  Dragon  and  the  Tiger,"  is  extremely  rare.  Both 
are  in  the  British  Museum  collection.  Still  more  impressive,  and  superb 
as  a  decorative  design,  is  the  u  White  Falcon,"  which  is  famous  and  was 
perhaps  the  greatest  treasure  in  the  Alexis  Rouart  Collection,  sold  in 
New  York  in  February,  1922.  The  great  bird  stands  proudly  with  head 
reverted  on  a  rock,  relieved  against  a  black  night-sky.  Behind  the  rock 
shoot  up  tall  banana  leaves,  and  at  the  foot  of  it  is  a  chrysanthemum. 
This,  unlike  the  **  Hawk  on  a  Rock,"  is  signed.  It  is  Koryusai's  master¬ 
piece  in  its  kind. 

We  have  mentioned  in  the  last  chapter  certain  prints  of  birds  and  flowers 
by  Koryusai  and  by  Harunobu.  It  seems  probable  that  Koryusai  continued 
this  class  of  print  into  Anyei,  when  he  was  taking  more  to  painting  than 
before.  The  most  famous  of  these  pieces  is  the  “  Crow  and  Heron," 
which  has  been  often  reproduced,  the  black  and  white  of  the  two  birds  as 
they  stand  on  a  branch  of  snow-laden  willow  against  a  clear  blue  sky 
making  a  most  effective  design.  Harunobu  had  made  a  similar  contrast 
in  a  print  of  a  white  and  black  buffalo  near  a  blossoming  peach  tree. 

Toyoharu  also  designed  a  certain  number  of  pillar-prints  in  these  years, 
the  motives  being  usually  figures  from  legend,  or  analogues  of  classic  themes. 
At  the  same  time  Shunsho  published  hashira-ye  of  heroic  subjects.  1775 
is  the  date  of  his  book,  Nishiki  hyaku-nin  isshu  azumi  ori ,  **  the  Hundred 
Famous  Poets." 

But  Shunsho's  main  sphere  of  production  was,  as  always,  the  actor- 
print.  And  in  his  actor-prints  he  was  steadily  growing  in  strength  and 
decision  of  line  and  in  the  power  of  seizing  and  rendering  character.  But 
though  acknowledged  to  be  supreme  in  theatrical  prints,  Shunsho  had  no 
such  dominant  position  as  Harunobu  had  enjoyed.  Probably  it  was  no 
longer  possible  to  win  such  a  position  as  a  master  of  actor-prints  alone, 
and  Shunsho's  excursions  into  other  fields  were  only  occasional.  He  also 

76 


AN  YE  I  PERIOD:  FROM  1772  TO  1781 

developed  slowly.  It  was  from  his  brilliant  young  friend  Shigemasa 
rather  that  the  public  expected  the  great  things  to  come.  Shigemasa  was 
never  very  abundant  in  his  production  of  nishiki-ye,  but  he,  more  than 
any  of  the  others,  seems  to  have  created  the  type  which  we  associate  with 
Anyei  period.  The  tendency  of  the  day  was,  naturally  enough,  in  reaction 
from  the  feminine  delicacy  and  exquisiteness  of  Harunobu.  Larger  sheets 
and  broader  design  were  coming  into  vogue.  By  1775  Harunobu's  style, 
which  at  the  beginning  of  Anyei  was  still  being  followed  with  little 
modification,  had  become  a  thing  of  the  past. 

Koryusai's  famous  series,  “  New  Patterns  for  Young  Leaves,”  Hinagata 
Wakana  no  Hatsumoyd,  was  being  published.  The  medium-sized  squarish 
print  of  Meiwa  was  superseded,  and  in  its  place  we  have  the  large  upright 
sheet  which  from  now  onwards  was  to  be  the  regular  size  for  all  prints 
except  the  actor-prints.  The  more  conservative  Shunshd  kept  to  the 
smaller  hoso-ye  size  in  these  designs,  with  comparatively  few  exceptions, 
till  his  death  in  1793. 

Koryusai's  new  series  shows  a  complete  change  from  his  Meiwa  manner. 
There  is  no  background.  The  types  are  taller  and  more  massive.  Each 
group  of  three,  the  beauty  with  her  two  little  maids,  is  combined  in  a 
system  of  ample,  sweeping  curves.  The  colouring  is  more  vigorous  than 
delicate,  Koryusai's  favourite  rust-red  appearing  in  force,  foiled  with  black, 
yellow,  and  olive  tones,  though  pinks  and  purples  are  also  used.  We  note 
a  novelty  of  realism  in  the  print  of  “  Nanakoshi  of  the  House  of  the  Fan,” 
who  wears  black  velvet  over  pink  and  white,  and  the  texture  of  the  velvet 
is  reproduced  in  the  woodcut.  It  is  a  striking  series,  but  not  wholly 
successful.  Of  about  the  same  time  is  the  fine  print  which  we  reproduce  in 
colours  (PI.  6) ;  also  one  of  the  finest  of  all  Koryusai's  pillar-prints,  notable 
for  its  splendid  drawing  of  the  nude,  the  print  of  a  girl  in  bed  under  a  net 
from  which  she  tries  to  drive  the  mosquitoes,  while  a  young  man  pulls  the 
net  aside. 

If  Koryusai's  set  of  fashion-plates,  for  such  they  virtually  were,  was  a 
bid  for  leadership  by  Koryusai,  it  was  soon  answered.  Shigemasa  and 
Shunsho's  Seird  Bijin  Awase  Sugatami,  or  “  Beauties  of  the  Green  Houses,” 
appeared  in  1776,  and  is  generally  thought  to  be  the  most  beautiful  of  all 
the  coloured  picture-books  of  Ukiyo-ye.  It  certainly  has  few  rivals.  Many 
of  the  motives  are  charming,  such  as  that  in  the  double-page  design  where 
a  group  of  girls  come  out  on  a  winter  morning,  and  one  of  them  lifting  the 
dipper  from  the  round  cistern  finds  it  frozen  into  the  ice  and  brings  up  a 
crystal  round  of  ice  with  it. 


77 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


The  feminine  types  in  this  book  have  been  enthusiastically  praised, 
but  cannot  wholly  escape  the  charge  of  being  a  little  “  dumpy/'  Re¬ 
action  from  Harunobu's  fairy  grace  has  brought  about  a  sort  of 
squareness  and  solidity  which  seem  to  demand  taller  stature  for  really 
felicitous  proportions. 

This  slightly  taller  stature  is  seen  in  Shigemasa's  series  of  single  prints, 
probably  dating  about  1777,  called  Tobo  Bijin  no  zu ,  or  “  Pictures  of 
Beauties  of  the  East,"  which  is  unsigned.  Other  prints,  without  title  or 
signature,  seem  as  if  they  belonged  to  this  set,  and  at  any  rate  were 
published  at  the  same  time.  We  reproduce  one  in  colours  (PI.  7).  Here  is 
the  new  style  triumphant ;  and  we  cannot  help  wondering  why  it  was  not 
followed  up  and  imposed  by  Shigemasa  on  the  whole  of  Ukiyo-ye  for  some 
years  to  come.  We  note  in  one  of  these  prints  the  rendering  of  the  texture 
of  black  velvet,  as  in  Koryusai's  series,  also  the  use  of  a  red  and  yellow 
stripe  in  a  dress,  afterwards  to  be  a  favourite  colour-device  of  the  Temmei 
period.  But  what  strikes  one  chiefly  is  the  use  of  broad  masses  of  opaque 
colour,  and  the  avoidance  of  delicate  small  patterns  breaking  into  the 
design.  Breadth,  dignity,  and  a  certain  massiveness  are  the  qualities  aimed 
at  and  achieved. 

Shigemasa,  however,  having  matured  this  fine  type  of  design,  did  not, 
like  Harunobu  before  him,  and  Kiyonaga  after  him,  pour  out  an  abundance 
of  prints  developing  and  expanding  his  achievement.  He  produced  a  few 
very  fine  pillar-prints  in  this  manner,  one  of  which,  notable  for  its  sugges¬ 
tion  of  depth  and  atmosphere,  is  illustrated  in  Mr.  Ficke's  book  (Plate 
XVIII).  But  he  seems  to  have  cared  more  about  designing  picture-books 
than  single-sheets,  which  from  this  time  onwards  become  extremely  rare. 

Shunsho  meanwhile  continued  to  pour  out  his  hoso-ye  of  actors.  The 
types  show  the  change  of  fashion,  they  become  more  massive,  less  grace¬ 
fully  pliant.  But  some  of  Shunsho's  finest  designs  date  from  these  years. 
His  line  grows  more  nervous,  the  face  and  the  whole  body  of  the  actor 
represented  becomes  more  intensely  expressive  of  the  part  in  which  he  is 
absorbed.  Like  Shigemasa,  Shunsho  employs  opaque  colour  more  freely  ; 
he  is  fond  of  a  deep  brick-red,  used  sometimes  in  a  strong  mass  ;  and  his 
use  of  black  can  be  quite  magnificent.  His  pupil  Shunko  follows  him  with 
marvellous  closeness.  At  times  the  two  are  hardly,  if  at  all,  distinguish¬ 
able.  There  are  unsigned  actor-prints  of  Anyei  period  which  it  is  im¬ 
possible  to  attribute  more  definitely  than  to  “  Shunsho  or  school."  These 
hoso-ye  seem  to  have  been  issued  in  threes,  printed  from  one  block,  but  are 
usually  found  divided  as  single  prints.  As  time  goes  on  Shunsho  gradually 

78 


AN  YE  I  PERIOD:  FROM  1772  TO  1781 


tends  to  make  the  three  figures  more  of  a  single  design,  but  in  his  earlier 
work  the  three  are  designed  independently  and  are  only  related  to  each 
other  by  look  and  gesture,  the  poses  being  stationary  or  in  arrested 
movement. 

The  British  Museum  possesses  sixteen  triptychs  by  Shunsho,  and  sixty- 
three  diptychs  (as  well  as  thirty-eight  by  Shunyei)  which  doubtless  lack 
the  third  completing  sheet.  In  only  a  few  of  these  can  it  be  truly  said 
that  the  design  gains  by  completion,  though  there  are  cases  where  the 
gain  is  striking.  This  is  especially  true  of  those  prints  where  the 
background  is  more  elaborated.  Often  there  is  merely  a  suggestion  of 
undulating  ground,  coloured  a  tawny  yellow  or  green.  Many  prints  have 
a  decorative  frieze  of  floral  design  across  the  back ;  others  have  a  river 
or  seashore  conventionally  pictured.  In  no  case  are  the  surroundings 
emphasized.  It  is  on  the  actor’s  presence  that  Shunsho  concentrates. 
The  enormous  amount  of  Shunshd's  production,  in  which  naturally  there 
is  much  uninspired  work,  and  also  the  repetition  of  standing  figures,  each 
set  within  its  narrow  frame,  make  a  superficial  impression  of  monotony. 
Yet  the  average  is  astonishingly  high  ;  and  the  more  one  studies  Shunsho’s 
work,  the  more  one  is  compelled  to  admire  the  contained  force  of  his 
draughtsmanship  and  the  richness,  within  the  narrow  limits  chosen,  of 
his  gift  as  a  designer  and  a  colourist.  He  has  not  the  exquisite  sensibility, 
the  haunting  charm  and  emotional  quality  of  Buncho,  but  he  has  greater 
reserves  of  power.  What  has  been  recorded  above  of  his  relations  with 
Shigemasa  seems  to  indicate  that  he  was  slow  in  developing,  diffident 
rather  than  bold,  but  of  a  nature  that  knew  how  to  enrich  and  strengthen 
itself  by  experience.  Always  virile,  he  is  at  his  best  in  depicting  concen¬ 
trated  passion,  and  as  a  rule  is  better  in  masculine  than  in  feminine 
portrayal.  His  designs  of  actors  in  women's  parts  are  often  rather  stolid, 
though  now  and  then  he  depicts  a  woman  in  some  desolate  attitude  with 
an  extraordinary  dignity  of  beauty,  using  restrained  colours  and  a  full 
depth  of  black.  All  through  the  Anyei  period  he  continues  to  design 
these  actor-prints  with  unfailing  vigour,  and  though  sometimes  there  are 
symptoms  of  fatigue,  he  seems  always  ready  to  respond  to  the  challenge 
of  a  fresh  inspiration. 

And  what  of  the  younger  men  i  Ukiyo-ye,  so  far,  had  never  failed  in 
supplying  a  new  generation  of  varied  gift.  Nor  was  it  wanting  now. 
There  were,  in  fact,  three  young  men  now  at  the  opening  or  in  the  first 
phase  of  their  careers  who  were  destined  to  become  three  of  the  very 
greatest  of  Ukiyoye  masters,  although  it  was  to  be  many  years  before 

79 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


two  of  the  three,  the  men  afterwards  known  as  Utamaro  and  Hokusai, 
shone  forth  in  the  full  splendour  of  their  powers.  The  third  was  Torii 
Kiyonaga. 

As  we  have  seen  already,  Kiyonaga  had  begun  his  career  during  Meiwa, 
but  had  shown  no  precocity  of  talent.  Still  less  was  this  the  case  with 
Utamaro,  whose  earliest  known  work,  the  illustrations  to  a  novelette, 
Kembutsu  Tayema,  published  about  1773,  when  the  artist  was  about 
twenty,  give  little  hint  of  the  mastery  to  come. 

Reproduced  on  Plate  28  is  the  earliest  known  ichimai-ye  by  Utamaro, 
signed  Kita-gawa  Toyoaki,  and  dating  from  the  year  1777,  when 
Yoshizawa  Iroha,  the  actor  represented,  played  the  part  of  O  Sato.  The 
example  in  the  British  Museum — it  is  otherwise  unknown — is  exceptionally 
well  preserved,  the  delicate  colouring  unfaded.  Gracefully  designed  as 
it  is,  the  print  is  not  otherwise  remarkable.  From  the  three  remaining 
years  of  Anyei  only  a  few  prints  by  Utamaro  survive. 

Kiyonaga,  on  the  other  hand,  was  active  all  through  Anyei,  though  he 
had  not  yet  matured  a  really  distinctive  style.  There  is  a  certain 
strength  in  his  drawing,  verging  on  the  heavy  ;  but  the  designs  are  seldom 
interesting.  Even  as  late  as  1779,  which  is  the  date  of  a  set  of  prints  of 
the  Kanda  Festival,  Kiyonaga's  manner  seems  rather  cramped,  his  types 
are  rather  stolid ;  there  is  no  hint  of  the  amplitude  so  soon  to  come. 


80 


CHAPTER  VI 
TEMMEI  PERIOD 

JANUARY  24TH,  1781,  TO  JANUARY  25TH,  1789 


G 


y 


CHAPTER  VI 


TEMMEI  PERIOD 

JANUARY  24TH,  1781,  TO  JANUARY  25TH,  1789 

The  average  high  quality  of  the  work  produced  during  the  eight  years  of 
the  Temmei  period  causes  it  to  stand  out  as  perhaps  the  most  brilliant  in 
the  annals  of  the  Ukiyoye  school.  At  its  commencement,  Shunsho  was  a 
veteran  of  fifty-six  and  still  retained  his  vigour  unimpaired  ;  his  senior 
pupil  Shunko,  aged  thirty-nine,  had  earned  a  reputation  for  strength  of 
brush  almost  equal  to  that  of  his  master,  of  whom  he  was  regarded  as  the 
alter  ego ;  Toyoharu  was  in  his  forty- eighth  year  and  had  acquired  a 
working  knowledge  of  European  perspective  which  he  applied  with  no 
mean  skill  to  a  series  of  Uki-ye  which  were  a  great  advance  on  the  efforts 
in  that  direction  of  Okumura  Masanobu  and  his  contemporaries  some 
forty  years  previously.  The  words  shim-pan,  meaning  new  publication, 
often  found  prefixed  to  the  titles  of  Toyoharu's  Uki-ye,  convey  the  sense 
of  a  “  new  style  ”  differing,  as  they  indeed  did,  from  the  old  Uki-ye .  The 
versatile  Shiba  Kokan  was  prepared  by  a  study  of  Dutch  copper-plate 
engravings  for  similar  work,  to  which  he  gave  expression  in  1784  by  a 
series  of  views  both  native  and  foreign,  printed  from  copper  plates  and 
coloured  by  hand.  Kiyonaga  and  Utamaro  were  developing  their  extra¬ 
ordinary  talent  at  the  comparatively  early  ages  of  thirty  and  twenty-nine 
respectively. 

Moreover,  a  number  of  capable  men  made  their  debut  about  this  time  ; 
and,  what  they  lacked  in  originality,  they  amply  compensated  for  by  a 
uniform  excellence  of  draughtsmanship  and  harmonious  colour-schemes. 
The  women's  coiffure  changed  from  the  Tord-bin  of  Anyei  to  a  fan-shaped 
style  known  as  Sensu-bin  or  folding  fan  side-locks,  from  the  ends  of  which 
the  binsashi  are  often  seen  to  project.  The  mage  or  queue  also  underwent 
some  modifications,  which  may  be  studied  from  the  various  styles  shown 
in  a  book  entitled  Onna  Imagawa,  a  large  volume  illustrated  by  Kitao 
Shigemasa  in  1786,  and  published  in  the  beginning  of  1787.  Among  the 
new-comers  were  Shunsho's  pupils  Shunro,  Shuncho,  Shunzan,  Shunjo, 
Shundo,  Shunkyoku,  Shunrin,  Shunkwaku,  Shunsen,  and  Shunyei ; 
Shigemasa's  pupils  Masanobu,  Masayoshi,  and  Shunman  ;  Sekiyen's  pupil 
Sekiga ;  Yeishi  and  his  pupil  Gokyo ;  Bunkyo ;  Yenshi ;  Sancho  ; 
Rekisentei  Yeiri ;  Toyokuni  I ;  Toyohiro  ;  and  Toyomaru. 

Shunro,  known  in  later  years  as  Hokusai,  the  founder  of  the  Katsushika 
sub-school,  was  born  in  the  autumn  of  1760  at  Honjo,  Yedo.  His  father, 

83 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


Nakajima  Ise,  was  a  mirror-maker.  As  an  infant,  he  was  given  the  name 
of  Tokitaro,  which  was  changed  to  Tetsuzo  after  he  had  grown  into  boy¬ 
hood.  At  the  age  of  thirteen,  he  found  employment  with  a  bookseller ; 
but  the  work  proving  uncongenial  and  the  youngster  failing  to  satisfy  the 
requirements  of  his  employer,  he  was  soon  dismissed.  In  the  following 
year,  1773,  he  was  apprenticed  to  a  wood-block  engraver  under  the  name 
of  Nakajima  Tetsuzo,  and  studied  the  art  till  1777,  when  he  was  received 
by  Shunsho  into  his  studio  as  a  pupil.  On  completion  of  his  training,  his 
master  bestowed  upon  him  the  brush-name  of  Katsukawa  Shunro.  It 
has  been  said  that  in  1785  Shunsho  forbade  him  to  use  the  school  appella¬ 
tion  of  Katsukawa  on  account  of  his  having  studied  the  methods  of  the 
Kan5  school.  This,  however,  is  open  to  doubt  for  the  following  reason. 
Out  of  thirty-six  novelettes  known  as  Kibydshi  or  yellow  covers,  published 
from  1780  till  1796  inclusive,  we  find  the  signature  Shunro  in  thirty,  the 
last  dated  1796  ;  that  of  Gumbatei  in  four,  published  in  1785  and  1786  ; 
that  of  Kako  in  one  ;  and  that  of  Katsu  Shunro  in  one,  published  in  1786. 
If  Shunro  had  been  forbidden  the  use  of  Katsukawa  as  a  geisei  or  art  sur¬ 
name,  in  1785,  how  is  it  that  in  the  following  year  he  signed  Katsu  Shunro  i 
Further,  it  is  improbable  that  he  would  have  continued  to  use  the  name  of 
Shunro  under  the  circumstances,  and  to  revert  to  it  after  having  assumed 
the  gwamyd  of  Gumbatei  and  Kakd.  Shunro's  earliest  print  that  has  so 
far  come  to  light  is  one  of  the  actor  Ichikawa  Monnosuke  II  as  the  toilet 
vendor  Rokusaburo  in  the  play  **  Kataki-uchi  adana  kashiku,”  produced 
at  the  Nakamura  theatre  in  September,  1779.  Nearly  all  of  Shunro's 
prints,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  Uki-ye  and  Bijin-ye ,  one  rare  example 
of  which  is  reproduced  on  Plate  30,  are  of  actors  in  character.  This 
artist  died  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety  in  1849,  after  an  eventful  life 
replete  with  interest  as  showing  his  character  and  method  of  work.  These 
matters  will  be  mentioned  in  their  proper  sequence  later  on. 

Katsukawa  Shuncho  appears  to  have  left  Shunsho’s  studio  about  the 
end  of  Anyei,  as  his  earliest  prints  date  from  about  1780.  They  are  usually 
signed  Shuncho  gwa,  but  this  signature  is  occasionally  prefixed  by  the 
do- go  of  Yushido  and  followed  by  that  of  a  seal  reading  Churin,  an 
abbreviation  of  his  go  Churinsha.  The  dates  of  his  birth  and  death 
have  not  yet  been  discovered ;  but  his  work  extends  to  about  1795. 

Katsukawa  Shunzan  is  recorded  in  several  native  biographies  as  a  pupil 
of  Shunyei,  which  is  evidently  an  error ;  for  he  designed  prints  in  1785 
and  perhaps  earlier.  One  of  these  represents  the  actor  Nakamura  Nakazo  I 
as  Kudo  Suketsune  in  the  drama  “  Yae  hitoe  koto-no-ha  Soga,”  produced 

84 


TEMMEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1781  TO  1789 

at  the  Kiri  theatre  from  February,  1785.  In  this  year  Shunyei  was  but 
eighteen,  and  could  hardly  have  set  up  as  teacher  at  so  early  an  age.  It 
is  certain,  therefore,  that  Shunshd  was  his  master.  Most  of  his  prints  are 
signed  **  Shunzan  ”  or  **  Katsukawa — sometimes  abbreviated  to  Katsu — 
Shunzan  ”  ;  but  occasionally  we  find  a  print  signed  **  Shoyu  ”  or  “  Izumi 
Shoyu,”  a  brush-name  which  he  used  about  1787.  It  is  highly  probable 
that  Izumi  was  his  real  family  name.  His  personal  name  is  so  far 
undiscovered,  nor  are  the  dates  of  his  birth  and  death  known.  He  worked 
from  about  1782  till  1798.  As  far  as  is  known,  he  designed  no  surimono . 

Katsukawa  Shunjo,  whose  real  name  was  Yasuda  Ganzo,  is  likewise 
stated  in  some  biographies  to  have  been  a  pupil  of  Shunyei.  He  was, 
however,  undoubtedly  a  pupil  of  Shunsho,  for  at  the  date  of  his  death — 
August  13th,  1787 — Shunyei  was  only  twenty.  After  quitting  Shunsho 's 
studio  about  1781,  he  illustrated  kibydshi ,  and  does  not  appear  to  have 
designed  prints — all  of  actors  in  character — till  about  1784-1785.  He  and 
Shunyei  were  relations,  but  in  what  degree  is  not  exactly  known.  The 
date  of  Shunjo's  birth  remains  undiscovered. 

Katsukawa  Shundo  was  a  pupil  of  Shunsho,  not  of  Shunyei,  who  had  a 
pupil  of  the  same  name,  but  with  the  last  character  do  written  differently, 
with  whom  he  has  been  confounded.  Nothing  is  recorded  of  his  life. 
He  used  the  prefix  of  Rantokusai,  and  on  some  of  his  prints  which  are 
scarce  and  of  good  quality  he  used  the  jar-shaped  seal  containing  the 
ideograph  Hayashi,  after  the  examples  of  Shunsho  and  Shunko.  Nearly 
all  his  prints  are  of  actors  in  character  in  hoso-ye  format.  He  worked 
between  1780  and  1792. 

Katsukawa  Shunkyoku  started  his  career  about  1779  as  an  illustrator  of 
kibydshi ,  in  which  he  proved  himself  to  have  been  a  clever  artist.  In  these 
he  follows  the  style  of  Shigemasa  rather  than  that  of  Shunsho.  He  does 
not  appear  to  have  worked  beyond  1785-1786  ;  and  so  far  only  one  print 
— a  hashirakake  signed  Katsukawa  Shunkyoku  and  reproduced  in  the 
Happer  sale  catalogue,  London,  29th  April,  1909,  on  Plate  XX,  No.  532 — 
has  been  recorded.  Dates  of  birth  and  death  are  unknown. 

Of  Katsukawa  Shunrin  and  Shunkwaku  we  only  know  that  they  were 
Shunshd's  pupils  and  designed  a  few  hoso-ye  of  actors  in  character  during 
Temmei.  These  show  little  power  and  are  unimportant. 

Katsukawa  Shunsen  was  at  work  about  the  middle  to  the  end  of  Temmei. 
His  prints,  all  hoso-ye  of  actors  in  character,  are  powerfully  drawn  and 
beautifully  coloured.  Unfortunately  they  are  rare.  No  biographical 
details  are  available  of  these  last  three  artists  ;  the  first  two  appear,  how- 

85 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


ever,  on  Shikitei  Samba's  chart  of  Ukiyoye  painters  in  his  Okusetsu 
nendaiki ,  published  in  1802. 

Katsukawa  Shunyei  was  born  in  1768.  His  real  name  was  Isoda  Kyujiro. 
While  still  a  boy,  he  became  a  pupil  of  Shunshd,  his  first  work  being  to 
illustrate  a  book  entitled  Osaka  miyage  Yamato  nishiki,  which  appeared  in 
1782,  when  he  was  but  fifteen.  During  Kwansei  he  established  a  school 
of  painting.  His  death  took  place  on  December  13th,  1819,  in  the  fifty- 
second  year  of  his  age. 

Kitao  Masanobu  was  both  artist  and  writer,  in  which  latter  capacity  he 
usually  signed  himself  Santo  Kyoden,  though  we  sometimes  find  that  his 
designs  are  similarly  signed,  especially  those  for  books  and  albums  ;  as,  for 
instance,  the  scene  in  the  kitchen  of  a  Yoshiwara  house  which  forms  part 
of  a  book  of  poems  illustrated  in  colours  and  published  in  the  5  th  month 
of  Kwansei  7  (June,  1795)  under  the  title  Yomo  no  haru .  He  was  born  in 
1761,  his  personal  name  being  Iwase  (some  say  Haida)  Denso.  His  father 
is  said  to  have  been  Iwase  Nobuaki  (or  Nobuyoshi,  according  to  another 
account),  who  left  the  service  of  a  certain  Daimyo  in  the  province  of  Ise 
on  account  of  ill-health  and  settled  at  Yedo  where  he  married  a  Miss 
Omori,  by  whom  he  had  two  sons,  Kyoden  and  Kyozan.  At  the  age  of 
twelve  or  thirteen,  Denso  became  a  pupil  of  Shigemasa,  who  bestowed 
upon  him  the  brush-name  of  Kitao  Masanobu.  His  first  work  is  to  be  found 
in  a  kibydshi  published  in  the  beginning  of  1778,  and  two  years  later  he 
assumed  as  a  writer  the  pseudonym  of  Santo  Kyoden.  His  prints  and 
illustrated  books  were  published  by  Tsutaju,  with  whom  he  is  said  to  have 
been  employed  in  return  for  board  and  lodging.  His  famous  album  of 
Yoshiwara  courtesans  ( Yoshiwara  Keisei  shin  bijin  awase  jihitsu  kagami ), 
published  without  date,  but  certainly  in  February,  1784,  and  consisting  of 
seven  diptychs  (undivided),  is  signed  Kitao  Rissai  (not  Shinsai  as  is  some¬ 
times  stated)  Masanobu.  Two  fine  books  in  colours  of  portraits  of  popular 
comic  poets  of  the  day,  under  the  generic  title  of  “  A  sackful  of  humorous 
poems,”  appeared  in  February,  1786  and  1787  (this  latter  undated),  and 
were  both  signed  Kitao  Denso  Masanobu.  About  1789,  he  abandoned 
the  name  of  Kitao  Masanobu,  forsaking  art  for  trade  and  literature,  and 
died  on  October  27th,  1816. 

Kuwagata  Keisei  was  a  native  of  Yedo,  born  in  1761.  As  a  boy,  under 
the  name  of  Sanjiro,  he  was  trained  in  painting  by  Shigemasa,  from  whom 
he  received  the  brush-name  of  Kitao  Masayoshi.  In  later  years  he  also 
used  the  go  of  Keisai  and  Shoshin.  His  work  during  Temmei  consists  of 
illustrations  to  kibyoshi  and  of  designs  for  prints,  chiefly  Uki-ye,  in  all  of 

86 


TEMMEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1781  TO  1789 

which  he  closely  followed  his  master's  style.  His  most  original  work 
belongs  to  Kwansei  and  Kyowa  periods.  He  died  in  1824. 

Kubota  Shunman  was  born  at  Yedo  in  1757.  His  personal  name  was 
Yasubei.  He  first  studied  Shikunshi  (a  collective  name  for  the  four  plants, 
the  orchid,  bamboo,  plum,  and  chrysanthemum),  under  Kajitori  Uwohiko 
(d.  1782),  who  gave  him  the  brush-name  of  Shunman  ;  but  the  character 
Shun  being  the  same  as  that  of  Shunsho  and  his  pupils,  he  found  it  con¬ 
venient  to  alter  it  to  another  with  the  same  pronunciation.  He  studied 
Ukiyo-ye  under  Shigemasa.  He  sometimes  used  the  do-go  of  Shosado, 
and  wrote  novels  under  the  name  of  Nandaka  Shiran.  His  death  occurred 
on  October  30th,  1820.  He  designed  many  surimono . 

Kinchodo  Sekiga  received  his  training  and  name  from  Toriyama  Sekiyen, 
and  not  from  Ippitsusai  Buncho  as  has  sometimes  been  surmised.  His 
few  prints  are  of  actors  in  character  of  mediocre  quality.  No  biographical 
details  are  known. 

Yeishi  was  of  gentle  birth,  being  the  eldest  son  of  Hosoda  Tokiyuki,  a 
descendant  in  the  third  generation  of  a  Minister  of  Finance  in  the  Toku- 
gawa  Government.  He  was  born  in  1756  and  called  Hosoda  Jibukyo 
Tokitomi.  He  was  taught  painting  by  Kano  Yeisen  and  a  certain  Bunryusai; 
and,  as  an  admirer  of  the  nishiki-ye  of  Torii  Kiyonaga,  he  assumed  the  go 
of  Chobunsai,  derived  from  the  first  character  of  Tori-i  which  is  pro¬ 
nounced  Cho  in  Sinico-Japanese  and  that  of  Bun-ryu-sai.  His  work 
extends  from  about  1788  till  1800,  when  he  abandoned  print-designing 
for  painting.  He  died  August  1st,  1829. 

Of  his  pupil  Gokyo  nothing  is  known  save  that  he  designed  a  few  prints 
in  his  master's  style  at  the  end  of  Temmei  and  beginning  of  Kwansei. 
These  are  signed  Yeishi  monjin  (pupil)  Gokyo.  Yeishi  had  several  other 
pupils  during  Kwansei. 

Sakuragawa  Bunkyo  is  identical  with  the  novelist  Sakuragawa  Jihinari,  a 
native  of  Yedo  (6.  1767,  d .  1830)  and  variously  stated  to  have  been  a  potter, 
a  scabbard  maker,  or  metal  carver.  He  designed  but  few  prints — only 
three  have  so  far  been  seen — at  end  of  Temmei  and  beginning  of  Kwansei 
somewhat  after  Yeishi's  style,  but  with  a  distinct  personal  touch,  of  whom, 
however,  he  does  not  appear  to  have  been  a  pupil,  though  he  may  have 
been  his  fellow-student  under  Bunryusai,  whence  his  brush-name.  On 
one  print,  he  appended  to  his  signature  the  words  gi-gwa ,  the  literal  meaning 
of  which  is  44  drawn  for  amusement."  Yeishi  and  his  pupils  Yeiri  and 
Yeisho,  as  well  as  in  later  years  Hiroshige  and  Kuniyoshi,  sometimes  used 
the  same  expression,  which  was  probably  intended  to  convey  in  a  humilific 

87 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


sense  the  idea  that  the  picture  was  of  little  consequence  and  not  to  be  taken 
as  serious  work.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Kwaigetsudo  sometimes  used 
a  prefix  with  much  the  same  intent.  Neither  this  artist  nor  Angyusai 
Yenshi  are  mentioned  in  the  old  biographies  or  on  Samba’s  chart. 
Judging  from  the  few  bijin-ye  of  the  latter,  he  worked  from  about  1787 
till  1793  inclusive,  somewhat  in  the  manner  of  Yeishi,  especially  as 
expressed  in  that  artist’s  series  of  Genji  triptychs.  His  colour,  however, 
approximates  rather  to  that  of  Shuncho.  He  designed  at  least  one  actor- 
print  of  Segawa  Kikunojo  III,  dating  about  1794,  and  signed  Angyusai 
gwa.  He  was  probably  identical  with  Angyusai  Shudo,  this  being  his 
earlier  name,  who  illustrated  kibyoshi  in  1779  and  1780  much  in  the  style 
of  Kiyonaga.  The  Ukiyo  yeshi  benran  records  a  44  Mongytisai  Shudo,  who 
illustrated  kibyoshi  during  Anyei,”  who  is  doubtless  the  same  artist,  Mon 
being  a  misprint  for  An .  Under  the  name  of  Shudo,  he  designed  one  or 
two  prints  of  actors  and  wrestlers. 

Furukawa  Sancho  appears  on  Samba’s  chart  and  in  Ukiyoye  Biko ,  but 
with  no  details.  In  the  middle  of  Temmei,  he  illustrated  kibyoshi  and 
designed  a  few  nishiki-ye ,  in  both  of  which  he  follows  Kiyonaga’s  style, 
but  with  a  certain  pleasing  individuality.  He  was  writer  as  well  as  artist, 
and  appears  to  have  been  self-taught. 

Rekisentei  Yeiri’s  earliest  illustrations  are  in  a  kibyoshi  published  in  1788, 
and  shortly  after  he  began  to  design  nishiki-ye ,  which  are  somewhat  in  the 
manner  of  Yeishi,  of  whom,  however,  he  was  not  a  pupil.  In  No.  1  of  the 
Tokyo  edition  of  Kono  Hana ,  he  is  said  to  have  probably  been  identical 
with  Busentei  Yeiri,  who  illustrated  books  in  1802  and  1805.  The  Ukiyo 
yeshi  benran  gives  him,  as  a  pupil  of  Yeishun,  a  pseudonym  of  the  Kyoto 
artist  Hasegawa  Mitsunobu  ;  but  as  his  style  has  nothing  in  common  with 
that  painter,  this  statement  cannot  be  relied  upon.  According  to  another 
book,  he  was  a  pupil  of  a  Yedo  artist  whose  go  were  Shosekido  and 
Rekisentei  in  affiliation  with  the  Hosoda  sub-school.  He  designed  but  few 
prints,  and  these  during  the  Kwansei  period.  His  one  pupil,  Rekisentei 
Sorin,  designed  two  or  three  prints  towards  the  close  of  the  same 
period. 

Toyokuni  I  was  born  at  Yedo  in  1769,  the  son  of  a  carver  of  wooden 
images  named  Kurahashi  Gorobei.  His  personal  name  was  Kurahashi 
Kumakichi — changed  later  to  Kichiyemon,  and  on  leaving  Toyoharu's 
studio  was  given  the  brush-name  of  Utagawa  Toyokuni.  As  go  he 
assumed  that  of  Ichiyosai.  He  illustrated  a  kibyoshi ,  his  first  work,  in 
1786,  and  continued  such  work  during  the  rest  of  his  lifetime.  He 

88 


TEMMEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1781  TO  1789 

established  a  school  in  the  latter  half  of  Kwansei,  and  died  on  February 
24th,  1825. 

Utagawa  Toyohiro  was  born  at  Yedo  in  1763  (some  say  1773  ;  but 
former  date  is  certainly  correct).  His  personal  name  was  Okajima  Tojiro, 
and  he  became  a  pupil  of  Toyoharu  about  1782,  receiving  the  brush-name 
of  Utagawa  Toyohiro.  As  go  he  used  the  name  of  Ichiryusai.  One  of  his 
earliest  prints  is  a  hoso-ye  of  the  actors  Sawamura  Sojuro  III  and  Osagawa 
Tsuneyo  II  as  Mohei  and  O  San  respectively  in  the  second  act  of  the  play 
“  Imagawa  honryo  mitsuki  no  iri-bune,”  produced  at  the  Nakamura 
theatre  from  August,  1787.  His  death  occurred  in  1828.  He  established 
a  school  during  Kwansei,  training  Hiroshige. 

Toyomaru,  whose  dates  of  birth  and  death  are  unrecorded  but  whose 
work  extends  from  about  1785  to  1796,  under  the  brush-name  of  Kusa- 
mura  Toyomaru  or  Toyomaru  alone,  was  a  pupil  of  Utagawa  Toyoharu. 
According  to  Ukiyo-ye  biko,  he  was  afterwards  called,  as  a  pupil  of  Shunsho, 
Katsukawa  Shunro,  and  though  no  date  is  given  for  this  change  of  name, 
yet  it  probably  occurred  in  1796-1797,  when  Hokusai  had  given  up  that 
brush-name.  How  long  his  career  continued  after  this  date  is  uncertain. 
As  Shunro,  he  appears  to  have  mostly  designed  Uki-ye,  somewhat  after 
the  style  of  Toyoharu.  One  of  his  earliest  prints  is  that  of  the  actor 
Osagawa  Tsuneyo  II  as  the  maid  ( koshimoto )  Magaki  in  the  play  “  O-icho 
kongen  Soga,”  produced  at  the  Nakamura  theatre  from  February,  1787. 
A  print  signed  “  Toyomaru  gwa  ”  is  illustrated  in  the  Hayashi  sale 
catalogue,  No.  1057  (Paris,  1902),  and  is  dated  1790,  from  which  his 
style  may  be  studied. 

It  is  opportune  to  remark  that  nearly  every  artist  of  the  Ukiyoye  school, 
especially  during  the  Anyei,  Temmei,  and  in  a  lesser  degree  the  Kwansei 
periods,  made  their  debut  as  illustrators  of  kibydshi. 

This  was  due  to  the  number  of  talented  writers  of  fiction  during  this  time, 
the  demand  for  whose  works  with  suitable  illustrations  was  insatiable. 
Edition  after  edition  were  published  until  the  blocks  were  worn  out ;  and 
yet,  in  spite  of  the  enormous  numbers  printed,  comparatively  few  have 
survived  to  our  day,  and  generally  these  are  late  issues  which  give  but  a 
feeble  idea  of  the  artist's  ability.  When  well  printed  these  little  volumes 
afford  valuable  data  in  this  respect,  more  especially  as  most  bear  dates 
of  publication.  A  list  of  books,  illustrated  by  Kiyonaga  and  prepared  by 
Mr.  K.  Shibui,  is  given  in  Volume  II,  No.  1,  of  the  illustrated  quarterly 
journal,  Ukiyo-ye  no  kenkyu,  published  at  Tokyo  in  November,  1922,  and 
comprises  no  less  than  169  items,  157  of  which  are  kibydshi  mostly  issued 

89 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


in  Anyei  and  Temmei.  The  practice  of  admixing  text  and  illustration  on 
the  same  page  distinguishes  the  novelette  from  the  picture-book  proper 
( Yehon ). 

Kiyonaga  is  the  glory  of  Temmei.  He  dominates  the  period,  and  all  the 
many  fine  talents  beginning  to  be  active  during  these  years  were  content 
to  be  under  his  influence.  And  yet  when  Anyei  closed,  the  immediate 
future  of  Ukiyo-ye  might  well  have  seemed  quite  uncertain ;  there  was 
little  to  indicate  the  advent  of  any  one  artist  to  such  supremacy  as  Kiyonaga 
within  three  or  four  years  was  to  attain. 

Koryusai  had  given  up  designing  prints,  preferring  to  illustrate  books 
and  to  paint  pictures.  But  the  veteran  of  the  school,  Shunsho,  was  as 
productive  as  ever  and  much  of  his  finest  work  was  still  to  come.  Shunko, 
and  the  younger  pupil  Shunjo,  supported  him  with  great  ability.  The  most 
famous  of  all  Shunsho's  pupils  was  not  to  show  his  real  greatness  till  the 
1 8th  century  was  well  over ;  Hokusai,  at  this  stage  a  youth  in  his  early 
twenties,  was  still  Shunro  and  working  in  Shunsho's  studio. 

Of  the  other  masters  who  had  worked  through  Meiwa  and  Anyei,  Toyo- 
haru  was  now  devoted  to  topography  and  perspective.  The  study  of  linear 
perspective  fascinated  him  as  it  had  fascinated  Piero  della  Francesca  in 
Italy  centuries  before.  He  delighted  in  long  vistas  and  the  recession  of 
long  buildings.  But  these  studies,  learnt  from  Europe,  did  not  prevent  him 
from  remaining  Japanese.  He  pictures  the  sea-coast  under  a  night  of 
stars,  yet  shows  us  clearly  defined  in  the  distance,  and  larger  than  life,  all 
the  incidents  of  the  battle  of  Ichi-no-tani.  One  of  his  prints,  copied  from 
some  European  source,  depicts  the  ruins  of  Rome. 

Shigemasa,  as  we  have  seen,  after  doing  brilliant  things  and  seeming  to 
have  the  leadership  of  Ukiyo-ye  within  his  grasp,  had  not  cared  seriously 
to  pursue  his  successes  in  the  domain  of  the  nishiki-ye .  None  the  less  he 
was  the  most  influential  master  in  Anyei.  Kiyonaga  certainly  appeared 
the  likeliest  to  succeed  to  his  place,  but  much  of  his  activity  was  given  to 
book-illustration,  and  in  the  designing  of  single-sheets,  though  he  had 
shown  vigour  and  energy,  he  had  given  as  yet,  in  1781,  no  proofs  of  over¬ 
whelming  power.  And  suddenly  in  the  first  years  of  Temmei  there  was 
to  appear  a  brilliant  youth,  who,  ten  years  Kiyonaga's  junior,  challenged 
all  Ukiyo-ye  by  his  gifts.  This  was  Shigemasa's  pupil  Masanobu.  It  may 
be  worth  while  to  mention  in  passing  that  some  of  Shigemasa's  unsigned 
prints,  of  the  type  described  above,  p.  78,  have  often  been  attributed  to 
Masanobu.  This  is  manifestly  impossible,  since  the  fashions  are  those  of 

90 


TEMMEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1781  TO  1789 

a  time  when  Masanobu  was  a  boy  and  had  not  begun  to  publish.  Masa¬ 
nobu,  when  he  entered  the  field,  lost  little  time  in  tentative  experiments. 
He  was  only  twenty-three  when  the  now  famous  picture-book  of  Auto¬ 
graphs  of  Yoshiwara  Beauties  dazzled  the  Yedo  public.  We  will  return 
to  this  in  a  moment.  But  let  us  first  see  what  other  possible  rivals  were  in 
the  field.  Only  one  year  younger  than  Kiyonaga,  Utamaro  was  so  gradual 
in  developing  his  personal  style  that  one  is  apt  to  conceive  of  him  as 
belonging  to  the  next  generation.  We  know  no  print  of  his  earlier  than  1777, 
and  during  the  remaining  years  of  Anyei  he  does  not  seem  to  have  produced 
much.  But  early  in  Temmei,  in  the  years  1781-1783,  he  published  some 
diptychs  which,  though  still  superficially  under  the  influence  of  Shigemasa, 
are  of  extraordinary  beauty  and  originality.  The  finest  of  these  is  the 
diptych  reproduced  (PI.  8).  It  is  not  quite  the  Utamaro  with  which  we 
are  familiar  ;  but  in  essential  qualities  it  owes  nothing  to  preceding  masters  ; 
it  reveals  already  his  genius  for  figure-design,  and  considered  simply  in 
itself  is  an  enchanting  masterpiece.  The  variation  in  repetition  of  the 
swinging  lines  make  a  beauitful  rhythm  running  through  it ;  and  the 
strong  upright  of  the  post  near  the  centre,  repeating  the  less  definite  upright 
lines  of  the  figures,  enhances  the  delicacy  of  the  girlish  form  sitting  on  the 
boat's  prow  and  clinches  the  whole  composition.  Note  the  value,  too,  of 
the  outline  of  the  wide  sun-hat  worn  by  the  girl  who  stands  foremost  on 
the  landing-stage.  And  how  charming  is  the  invention  of  the  girl's  face 
peeping  through  the  young  man's  diaphanous  dress  which  she  has  caught 
in  her  hand  for  a  veil ;  how  beautifully  drawn  the  movement  of  the  foot 
of  the  girl  in  the  centre  !  Here  there  is  a  subtlety,  a  complexity,  made  to 
look  simple,  natural  and  spontaneous,  such  as  no  other  artist  of  Ukiyo-ye 
could  rival.  Beside  such  work  as  this,  all  that  Kiyonaga  had  done  in  Anyei 
seems  almost  crude  and  clumsy.  This  surely,  one  might  have  said,  was  the 
coming  man  of  Temmei.  And  yet  Utamaro,  with  all  this  marvellous  gift, 
was  content  to  bide  his  time,  and  made  no  effort  during  Temmei  to  dispute 
the  paramount  place  with  Kiyonaga.  He  had  not  caught  the  public  taste  ; 
and  when  Kiyonaga  triumphed,  Utamaro  adopted  something  from  his 
style. 

But  in  1783  it  was  a  question  whether  Kiyonaga  or  Masanobu  was  to 
win  the  leadership.  The  great  masters  of  Ukiyo-ye  were  few  of  them 
precocious.  Masanobu  is  exceptional  in  attaining  independence  at  so 
early  an  age.  He  was  two  years  younger  than  Hokusai,  but  Hokusai, 
under  his  name  of  Shunrd,  was  quite  inconspicuous  now  and  for  many 
years  to  come.  At  this  time  he  was  designing  actor-prints  in  the  style  of 

9i 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


Shunsho,  showing  occasionally  a  vigour  equal  to  his  master's,  as  in  the 
hoso-ye  diptych  of  Danjuro  with  his  foot  upon  a  great  axe  and  Hangoro 
with  a  skull  in  his  hands. 

He  also  designed  small  idylls,  of  no  special  note,  and  a  few  uki-ye  in  the 
manner  of  Toyoharu.1  One  print  of  a  group  of  beauties  is  reproduced  on 
Plate  30,  and  is  noteworthy  because  it  has  hitherto  always  passed  as 
Shunsho's  work.  It  is  usually  found,  indeed,  with  a  signature  of  Shunsho 
on  it ;  but  this  is  a  forged  addition.  The  earlier  state  which  we 
reproduce  has  no  signature,  but  is  sealed  Shunro .  Its  date  is  about 
1781,  and  it  is  one  of  Hokusai's  earliest  colour-prints. 

Masayoshi,  another  pupil  of  Shigemasa,  was  the  same  age  as  Masanobu, 
but  he  again  is  one  of  those  whom  we  associate  with  a  later  generation, 
since  though  he  designed  some  attractive  prints  in  Temmei,  his  most 
characteristic  work  is  in  the  books  that  he  published  in  Kwansei  and  later. 

We  return  then  to  Masanobu.  Nothing  quite  like  the  seven  large  double¬ 
page  designs  of  the  Yoshiwara  Keisei  Shin  Bijin  Awase  Jihitsu  Kagami  had 
been  seen  before.  The  prints  are  not  like  the  usual  diptychs,  each  sheet 
of  which  can  stand  as  a  separate  design,  though  completing  each  other. 
The  compositions  are  indivisible.  From  the  point  of  view  of  subject,  the 
prints  are  interesting.  Each  depicts  a  rival  pair  of  beauties,  with  their 
younger  attendants  ;  and  the  set  of  prints  takes  its  title  from  the  autograph 
poems  engraved  on  each  in  the  handwriting  of  the  girls  portrayed,  mostly 
poems  from  the  classic  anthologies.  Nothing  could  more  vividly  illus¬ 
trate  the  atmosphere  of  culture  and  refined  accomplishment  in  which  these 
prisoners  of  the  Flowery  Quarter  lived.  In  design  and  colour  also  the  prints 
are  remarkable.  It  was  as  if  Masanobu  had  intended  to  show  the  world 
the  utmost  resources  of  the  colour-printer.  Never  before  had  so  many 
colour  blocks  been  used.  Every  available  tint  seems  to  be  used,  if  only  for 
some  small  detail  of  pattern  here  and  there.  The  figures  are  related  to 
another  in  a  system  of  curving  lines,  into  which  the  mosaic  of  colour  is 
fitted,  with  a  rather  bewildering  effect,  since  the  over-complicated  pattern 
seems  almost  as  if  it  had  been  separately  designed,  and  distracts  from  the 
drawing  of  the  human  forms.  The  feminine  types  derive  from  Shigemasa, 
but  the  faces  are  longer  and  heavier. 

Imposing  and  novel  as  these  prints  must  have  seemed  on  their  first 
appearance,  they  cannot  rank  as  masterpieces.  The  intricate  colour- 

1  Shunsho,  Hokusai's  master,  also  designed  Ukiye.  One  example  in  the  British  Museum, 
a  view  of  Enoshima,  is  remarkable  for  having  cast  shadows.  The  date  of  the  print  is 
uncertain,  but  it  was  probably  made  in  Anyei. 

92 


TEMMEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1781  TO  1789 

schemes  are  not  really  mastered  and  harmonized.  The  synthesis  is 
imperfect.  But  though  altogether  inferior  to  Utamaro's  diptychs  of  the 
time,  they  were  more  striking  to  the  ordinary  eye.  They  were  more  of  a 
novelty  also  ;  and  in  Ukiyo-ye  novelty  counted  immensely. 

One  thing  impresses  at  once,  and  that  is  the  majestically  tall  proportions 
of  the  principal  figures.  This  was  something  new ;  for  during  Anyei 
the  fashionable  type  of  figure  had  been  rather  short  than  tall. 

Was  it  Masanobu  or  Kiyonaga  who  set  the  fashion  for  these  types  of 
women  of  grand  build  and  stature  i  It  is  certain  that  by  1783  Kiyonaga 
had  matured  the  special  type  for  which  he  is  famous  and  which  was  to  be 
the  model  for  all  Temmei.  But  his  finding  of  this  splendid  type  seems  to 
have  been  strangely  sudden.  The  profusion  of  prints  in  this  stately  style 
which  now  broke  forth  came  with  a  rapidity  that  reminds  one  of  Harunobu's 
swift  expansion  of  genius  at  the  beginning  of  Meiwa.  Kiyonaga's  work  in 
Anyei,  often  vigorous  but  often  dull,  does  not  prepare  us  for  this  explosion. 
The  print  of  the  “  Child  Caligraphist  "  which  we  reproduce  is  fortunately 
dated  **  the  year  of  the  Hare,"  that  is,  1783,  the  same  date  which  is  found 
on  one  of  the  prints  of  Masanobu's  famous  picture-book.  This  print  is  in 
Kiyonaga's  fully  formed  and  masterly  style  in  its  earliest  phase.  It  is 
possible  that  other  prints  in  the  style  preceded  this,  but  if  so,  hardly  by 
more  than  a  year.  Was  it  Masanobu  who  challenged  Kiyonaga's  sudden 
putting  forth  of  his  full  powers  i  Or  was  it  Masanobu  who  stimulated 
Kiyonaga's  genius  to  its  rich  outburst  i  Or  was  it  coincidence  merely  i 
In  any  case  the  two  must  have  seemed  for  the  moment,  in  these  early  years  of 
Temmei,  as  close  rivals. 

But  the  rivalry  was  not  to  last.  Masanobu,  like  Shigemasa,  did  not 
follow  up  his  success.  He  produced  at  least  one  masterpiece,  again  a 
double-page  composition  rather  than  a  diptych,  the  group  of  holiday¬ 
makers  in  an  iris  garden  listening  to  a  cuckoo.  This  rare  piece  would  be 
one  of  the  prints  most  sought  by  collectors,  if  the  chance  of  acquiring  it 
were  not  so  remote.  It  is  reproduced  by  Ficke,  Plate  XXXIV,  and  in  the 
Paris  V.I.  Catalogue ,  Plate  XLIX,  from  the  only  two  copies  known  at 
present.  But  after  this  time  Masanobu  practically  disappears,  to  become 
more  famous  as  a  writer  under  the  name  of  Kyoden. 

Certainly  Kiyonaga  altogether  surpassed  Masanobu  in  the  creation  of  a 
beautiful  feminine  type.  In  Masanobu's  type  the  face  is  larger,  the  nose 
longer,  the  chin  squarer,  and  the  whole  countenance  heavier  than  in 
Kiyonaga's  type,  which,  as  we  see  in  the  print  of  the  “  Child  Cali¬ 
graphist,"  was  developed  originally  from  Koryusai's  later  type,  but  has 

93 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 

become  sweeter  and  more  expressive,  with  rounded  cheek  and  a  small 
chin. 

The  prints  of  the  series  Tosei  Yuri  Bijin  Awase,  three  of  which  are  illus¬ 
trated  in  the  V.L  Catalogue,  Plates  XIX  and  XX,  are  possibly  very  slightly 
earlier  in  date.  But  the  transition  from  Kiyonaga’s  Anyei  style  seems  in 
any  case  to  have  been  abrupt.  From  a  print  of  Shunsho's  which  can  be 
dated  1780,  we  see  that  the  coiffure  of  that  year  shows  no  sign  of  the 
coming  change  to  the  mode  we  associate  with  Temmei.  It  is  the  same  as 
in  Kiyonaga's  series  of  the  Kanda  Festival  (p.  80)  which  dates  from  1779. 
The  change  must  have  come,  therefore,  in  1781  or  1782. 

To  the  first  years  of  Temmei  we  may  refer  some  pillar-prints,  the  most 
famous  of  which,  and  the  most  beautiful,  is  the  girl  walking  against  the 
wind  under  wistaria  blossom,  with  a  black  hood  pulled  over  her  head. 
There  is  a  walking  figure  in  the  Tosei  Yuri  Bijin  Awase  which  is  very  close 
to  this.  In  these  pillar-prints  Kiyonaga  seems  to  rejoice  in  a  new-found 
power  of  line,  using  his  brush  with  a  confident  force,  such  as  Ukiyo-ye 
had  not  known  since  the  days  of  the  Primitives.  Just  as  Harunobu  at  the 
opening  of  Meiwa  found  his  genius  as  a  colourist  released,  so  with  the 
first  years  of  Temmei  Kiyonaga  realizes  for  the  first  time,  and  exults  in,  his 
splendid  draughtsmanship. 

This  air  of  joyous  and  serene  confidence  in  power  marks  the  great  array 
of  prints  which  were  now  to  come.  All  through  Temmei  the  type  of  face 
changes  little,  though  in  the  later  prints  the  line  of  the  cheek  is  a  little  less 
rounded  than  in  the  prints  of  1783,  and  the  chin  is  a  little  fuller.  The 
fashion  of  hair-dressing  also  does  not  change  in  essentials.  At  the  beginning 
of  the  period  the  side-wings  are  widely  extended,  the  bow  of  the  bin-sashi 
being  flattened,  and  the  ends  of  it  showing  beyond  the  hair.  Then  the 
bin-sashi  becomes  more  curved,  and  by  1789,  the  end  of  the  period,  the 
side  hair  is  dressed  in  smaller,  blunter,  and  compacter  shape,  the  ends  of 
the  bin-sashi  being  hidden.  The  only  decided  change  is  in  the  varying 
proportions  of  the  figures.  These  are  supremely  tall  and  stately  in  the 
earlier  years,  about  1784,  but  gradually  decline  to  normal  proportions. 

As  if  he  had  shed  all  hampering  influences  and  begun  life  anew,  Kiyonaga 
now  created  one  masterpiece  after  another.  Two  famous  sets  of  prints 
stand  out  above  the  others ;  the  set  called  Fuzoku  Azuma  no  Nishiki, 
“  Brocade  of  the  East  in  Fashion/'  and  the  set  of  twelve  diptychs  called 
Minami  Juniko,  **  Twelve  Months  of  the  South."  Some  of  the  former 
set  are  known  to  be  diptychs ;  perhaps  all  were ;  but  most  are  now  known 
only  as  single  sheets. 


94 


TEMMEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1781  TO  1789 

The  most  famous  of  these  prints  have  been  reproduced  many  times  and 
are  familiar  to  students.  In  the  first  set  is  the  “  Murasame  and  Matsu- 
kaze ,”  the  sisters  of  the  No  play  who  turn  to  each  other  as  they  walk  by  the 
seashore  carrying  salt-pans  slung  from  yokes  over  their  shoulders,  and 
with  long  hair  unbound.  The  British  Museum  collection  has  Kiyonaga's 
original  sketch  for  this  print,  differing  in  details  from  the  final  design. 
Such  studies  are  extremely  rare,  not  having  been  thought  worth  preserva¬ 
tion,  as  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  this  sketch  was  found  inside  the  binding 
of  an  album  when  it  was  taken  to  pieces.  It  had  been  used  merely  as 
stuffing.  The  print  is  typical  of  Kiyonaga's  new  style  of  simple  grandeur. 
No  trivial  accessories,  no  variegation  of  colour,  no  intricacy  of  pattern, 
interfere  with  the  serene  dignity  of  these  two  figures,  so  admirably  placed 
within  the  frame.  In  others  of  the  series  we  find  a  group  of  three  or  four 
figures  placed  in  processional  order,  and  relying  on  the  majestic  effect  of 
vertical  lines.  In  one  print  a  family  is  taking  a  young  child  to  visit  a 
temple,  and  the  little  girl  lifted  high  in  her  stiff  ceremonial  dress  on  the 
shoulders  of  a  man-servant  varies  the  vertical  composition  only  by  an 
added  emphasis.  This  processional  arrangement  is  typical  of  Kiyonaga. 
He  gets  monumental  effects  out  of  it,  though  it  was  soon  to  become 
monotonous.  Two  of  the  finest  prints  of  this  set  are  less  stiffly  arranged. 
In  one,  perhaps  the  grandest  of  all,  three  women  have  just  come  from  the 
bath,  with  loose  wraps  about  them.  Two  stand  together,  one  with  her 
firm  bust  showing  bare  under  the  dress  cast  negligently  over  her  shoulders  ; 
the  third  squats  on  the  ground  and  is  trimming  her  toe-nails.  In  the  other, 
less  imposing  but  more  charming,  two  girls  are  buying  from  a  seller  of 
miniature  trees,  and  in  the  foremost  girl's  face  there  is  a  vivacity,  a  lift  of 
the  eyebrows,  and  smiling  playfulness  (found  also  in  some  of  the  Tosei 
Yuri  Bijin  Awase  series)  which  surprise  us.  Kiyonaga  rarely  invents 
motives  beyond  the  simplest  to  relate  his  figures  to  one  another  ;  and  his 
most  characteristic  women  are  proudly  impassive.  He  is  content  with  the 
solid  pose  of  his  majestic  forms,  as  if  to  bend  or  sway  them  toward  or  away 
from  each  other  would  mar  their  dignity.  But  out  of  these  so  simple 
harmonies  what  a  magnificent  whole  he  creates,  consummate  in  its  equi¬ 
librium  and  authority  !  If  his  resources  as  a  designer  are  strangely  limited 
and  easily  exhausted,  within  those  limits  he  is  perfect,  and  he  is  a  splendid 
draughtsman.  His  superb  feminine  forms,  calmly  sweet  in  a  stable  world 
and  breathing  the  unconscious  air  of  perfect  health,  are  drawn  with  no 
parade  of  power,  but  impress  as  by  the  sensation  of  actual  presence,  so 
wonderfully  does  the  contour  evoke  the  shape  of  the  rounded  limbs  that 

95 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


it  encloses.  This  discovery  of  a  type  at  once  winning  and  stately,  a  type 
founded  on  reality  but  imaginatively  enhanced  so  as  to  be  in  truth  an  ideal 
creation,  is  one  of  Kiyonaga's  great  achievements. 

It  is  an  impersonal  art,  this  ;  no  violence  of  expression  or  of  restless  line 
disturbs  the  poise  of  these  harmoniously  moving  or  statue-like  goddesses, 
or  the  adjusted  folds  of  their  garments.  Only  at  times  in  the  extreme 
emphasis  of  stature  does  the  artist  seem  to  yield  to  some  inner  emotional 
pressure,  as  in  that  print  from  the  Minami  Juniko  series  (the  second  sheet 
of  the  diptych  has  not  been  traced)  where  two  girls  crouch  on  the  floor 
deciphering  a  letter  by  the  light  of  the  paper-screened  lantern,  while  above 
them  towers  against  the  window  a  woman  majestically  tall  and  pensive, 
looking  out  on  grey  night  over  the  sea,  and  the  half-moon  in  the  sky,  and 
the  flares  of  fishing-boats  like  sparks  on  the  remote  water.  This  wonderful 
print  anticipates  by  its  sense  of  mystery  in  simple  things  and  by  the  beauty 
of  its  strange  proportions  some  of  the  later  creations  of  Utamaro.  But  it 
is  exceptional. 

The  most  famous  and  familiar  of  the  series  of  twelve  diptychs  Minami 
Juniko,  one  of  the  classic  masterpieces  of  Ukiyoye,  is  the  holiday  group  on 
a  balcony  overlooking  Shinagawa  Bay.  It  is  a  composition  simple  in  its 
symmetry.  At  the  left  is  one  standing  woman  immensely  tall ;  at  the 
right  two  girls  standing  close  together.  In  the  centre  are  four  seated  or 
kneeling  figures,  a  youth  and  three  girls,  arranged  in  groups  of  two.  It  is 
an  hour  of  peace  and  idleness  ;  one  of  the  seated  girls  touches  her  samisen, 
and  the  imagined  notes  of  music  seem  to  hold  the  group  in  happy  stillness  ; 
only  the  gesture  of  the  girl,  crouching  beside  the  youth  and  holding  up  a 
lacquer  wine-cup  as  she  turns  her  face  to  the  woman  behind  her,  lends  a 
touch  of  animation.  But  of  what  value  to  the  composition  is  that  central 
space  of  air  and  prospect  of  seashore  !  What  largeness  and  infinitude 
seem  drawn  in  among  those  idle  figures  !  Here  is  Kiyonaga's  new  gift  to 
Ukiyo-ye ;  completeness,  **  envelope/'  The  landscape  is  no  mere  adjunct, 
it  is  an  integral  part  of  the  conception.  There  is  no  effort  at  realism,  no 
colour  in  the  sky  ;  the  evocation  is  made  by  the  simplest  means  ;  but  one 
smells  the  seaweed  on  the  sands  and  the  salt  moist  air  of  evening  at  low 
tide,  one  seems  to  hear  faint  voices  from  the  distant  groups  of  people  near 
the  little  cluster  of  stranded  fishing-boats. 

Of  Kiyonaga's  “  processional  ”  composition  the  happiest  example  is  the 
night-piece  in  this  series,  where  a  youth  and  six  girls  are  strolling  out 
with  lanterns  in  the  dusk.  He  repeated  this  kind  of  design  indefinitely, 
but  was  never  inspired  to  so  absolute  a  felicity  as  here. 

96 


TEMMEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1781  TO  1789 

Of  the  same  date  as  this  series,  but  apparently  not  belonging  to  it,  is  a 
diptych  of  “  Evening  on  the  banks  of  the  Sumida  ”  which  rivals  and 
perhaps  surpasses  the  **  Shinagawa  ”  we  have  described.  Again  the 
motive  is  of  the  simplest.  In  one  sheet  are  two  girls  standing  by  a  low 
bench  on  which  a  third  is  seated.  In  the  other  sheet  three  other  girls  are 
taking  leave  of  them  to  walk  along  the  river  bank,  the  breeze  blowing  their 
skirts  into  long  curves.  The  contrast  of  gentle  action  with  stillness  is  just 
enough  to  animate  as  with  a  musical  slow  movement  this  enchanting 
design.  The  tall  figures  with  their  beautiful  calm  carriage  are  breathing 
creatures  ;  hands  and  feet  are  drawn  with  sensitive  sureness  and  exquisite 
truth  to  natural  movement.  It  is  as  if  one  felt  the  actual  touch  of  the  two 
clasping  hands  of  the  girls  who  move  away.  And  the  river,  the  quiet 
even  ing,  the  little  houses  opposite ;  it  is  magical  how  it  is  all  brought  to 
our  senses  with  such  simple  means. 

Look,  again,  at  the  print  we  reproduce  in  colours  (it  is  the  left-hand  sheet 
of  a  diptych,  or  possibly  a  triptych),  and  note  the  little  procession  of  people 
moving  along  the  ridge  of  the  high  green  bank  above  the  temple  gate. 
The  clear  wash  of  light  and  air  is  round  them.  In  this  sense  of  out-of- 
doors  atmosphere,  and  the  relation  of  human  figures  to  their  natural 
surroundings,  Kiyonaga  is  without  a  rival.  But  the  figures  remain  always 
the  dominating  interest. 

Temmei  is  the  period  of  great  triptychs.  It  has  generally  been  assumed 
that  these  triptychs  on  the  large  scale  were  Kiyonaga's  invention.  We 
have  already  noted  at  least  one  triptych  on  this  scale  by  Shunsho  which 
dates  from  about  1770  ;  so  it  was  not  a  new  thing.  But  certainly  the  form 
had  never  been  exploited  before  as  it  was  by  Kiyonaga,  and  it  was  par¬ 
ticularly  congenial  to  his  spacious  compositions  of  outdoor  scenes.  Boating 
parties  on  the  Sumida  gave  him  motives  for  a  number  of  splendid  triptychs, 
notably  the  landing  from  a  pleasure  boat,  in  which  the  great  black  prow 
tells  so  finely.  And  the  groups  of  figures  are  beautifully  harmonized  with 
their  landscape  setting.  An  extraordinary  air  of  happiness  seems  to  pervade 
these  serene  and  poised  designs.  There  are  other  triptychs  of  the  close  of 
Temmei  which  we  shall  mention  later.  Splendid  as  they  are,  none  of  these 
triptychs  quite  reaches  the  absolute  felicity  and  concentration  of  the 
masterpieces  in  diptych  form,  some  of  which  have  been  described  above. 

Small  wonder  that  Kiyonaga's  triumphant  works  of  early  Temmei  took 
the  public  captive ;  and  small  wonder  that  all  the  rising  generation  of 
artists  modelled  their  style  as  closely  as  they  could  on  his.  Even  Utamaro 
assimilated  his  types  to  those  of  his  victorious  contemporary,  though  his 


97 


H 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


design  remained  entirely  his  own.  During  Temmei  perhaps  the  finest, 
certainly  the  most  distinctive,  work  of  Utamaro's  is  to  be  found  in  the 
wonderful  Book  of  Insects  and  Flowers ,  published  in  1788.  The 
originality  and  felicity  of  the  designs  are  matched  by  the  exquisite  truth  of 
the  drawing,  the  inconceivable  delicacy  of  the  printing.  The  book  sur¬ 
passes  everything  of  the  kind  ever  done. 

Only  one  master  remained  in  his  old  paths  :  the  veteran  Shunsho.  He 
followed  the  fashion  indeed  when  the  extravagantly  tall  figures  were  in 
vogue ;  but  he  continued  to  design  his  actor-prints  in  the  old  hoso-ye 
shape,  and  his  small  triptychs  were  still  of  single  figures,  each  on  one  of 
the  three  sheets  and  only  occasionally  so  connected  that  the  composition 
suffers  by  the  division.  It  is  true  that  we  find  prints  in  the  larger  form 
(oban)  done  by  Shunsho.  These  are  sometimes  of  heroic  subjects,  and  in 
that  case  one  may  suspect  them  to  be  usually  parts  of  triptychs  published 
probably  during  Anyei,  like  the  early  one  already  mentioned  (p.  65). 
There  is  also  a  series  of  large  prints  of  actors  in  the  green-room ;  and  a 
few  large  prints  of  groups  of  actors  on  the  stage. 

The  example  by  Shunsho 's  able  pupil  Shunko,  which  we  reproduce, 
dates  from  1785.  But  the  fine  example  of  Shunsho 's  late  work  which  we 
illustrate  dates  from  about  1791,  after  Temmei  was  ended,  and  proves 
that  even  at  this  late  date  a  little  before  his  death  and  when  Kiyonaga's 
career  as  a  print-designer  was  virtually  over,  Shunsho  kept  to  the  old 
traditions  of  his  school.  The  point  may  be  emphasised,  since  it  is  often 
assumed  that  during  Temmei  Shunsho  had  given  up  prints  for  painting. 

Kiyonaga  became  head  of  the  Torii  line  when  Kiyomitsu  died  in  1785, 
and  did  not  neglect  the  traditions  of  his  house,  which  had  always  been 
connected  with  the  theatre. 

During  Meiwa  he  had,  as  we  saw,  designed  actor-prints  in  the  Kiyomitsu 
style,  rather  feebly  ;  but  during  Anyei  he  seems  to  have  left  this  field  almost 
entirely  to  Shunsho.  In  Temmei,  however,  he  resumed  the  designing  of 
actor-prints,  usually  triptychs,  with  a  row  of  musicians  or  reciters  at  their 
desks  behind  the  players.  They  are  massive  and  imposing,  but  one  returns 
with  more  satisfaction  to  Shunsho's  quiet  dignity  and  fine  colour.  We 
reproduce  (PI.  32)  one  of  a  rare  set  of  actors  in  private  life,  which  show 
Kiyonaga’s  emphatic  power  to  advantage. 

Those  of  Shunsho's  pupils  who  kept  to  theatrical  prints  were  but  slightly 
affected  by  Kiyonaga.  The  one  who  showed  most  original  talent  was  the 
young  Shunyei.  In  1787,  when  he  was  twenty,  he  published  a  large  head 
of  Ichikawa  Yao^o  III  as  Sukeroku  in  the  play  “  O-icho  Kongen  Soga,” 

98 


TEMMEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1781  TO  1789 

produced  in  Yedo  in  the  February  of  that  year.  This  is  in  the  Shunsho 
style,  on  a  large  scale,  and  is  very  forcibly  drawn.  It  is  remarkable  as  the 
earliest  known  example  of  this  type  of  print,  the  large  heads  of  actors,  which 
have  generally  been  assumed  to  have  originated  with  Sharaku.  But  it  is 
not  the  only  example,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  next  chapter,  which  can  be 
dated  before  1794,  when  Sharaku  first  appeared. 

But  apart  from  Shunsho  and  certain  of  his  school,  the  whole  of  Ukiyo-ye 
fell  under  Kiyonaga's  spell.  Even  some  of  Shunsho 's  most  gifted  pupils 
altogether  forsook  their  allegiance,  and  their  work  is  entirely  associated  with 
the  Kiyonaga  manner.  This  was  especially  the  case  with  Shuncho,  who 
follows  Kiyonaga's  footsteps  like  a  shadow.  We  reproduce  (PI.  28)  a  most 
charming  example  of  Shuncho's  little-known  early  work,  when  he  was 
emerging  from  Shunsho 's  influence.  It  dates  from  about  1785. 

During  the  latter  part  of  Temmei  Shuncho  designed  a  great  number  of 
single  sheets,  diptychs,  triptychs,  and  pillar-prints  all  so  close  to  Kiyonaga 
in  style  that  at  times  one  might  attribute  a  print  of  his  to  the  greater 
master  were  it  not  for  the  signature.  He  was  not  so  forcible  a  draughtsman, 
though  by  no  means  lacking  in  vigour,  especially  in  some  of  his  hashira-ye. 
But  he  was  eminently  graceful  and  sensitive ;  and  he  was  a  delicate  and 
distinguished  colourist,  as  can  be  seen  from  the  very  rare  and  unusually 
shaped  oblong  print  reproduced  (PI.  10).  This  could  never  be  mistaken 
for  a  Kiyonaga,  and  not  merely  on  negative  grounds.  What  Shuncho 
would  have  achieved  had  he  worked  on  independent  lines  we  can  only 
conjecture. 

Shunzan  was  another  of  Shunsho's  deserting  pupils.  For  some  years  he 
produced  actor-prints  in  the  Katsukawa  style,  and  scenes  from  history ; 
then,  going  over  to  Kiyonaga's  group  he  surrendered  entirely  to  that 
master,  and  in  his  manner  designed  many  a  delightful  print.  The  triptych 
of  the  “  Pilgrimage  to  Ise  "  and  the  u  Niwaka  Procession  "  are  well-known 
examples.  But  his  dependence  on  Kiyonaga  was  complete. 

Shunman,  who  came  over  from  the  Kitao  school,  was  more  original.  His 
prints  are  comparatively  few,  but  have  a  peculiar  charm.  He  occupies  in 
Temmei  something  of  a  similar  position  to  that  of  Buncho  in  Meiwa ; 
and  his  relation  to  Kiyonaga  resembled  that  of  Buncho  to  Harunobu. 

Working  in  the  style  of  the  dominant  master,  each  of  these  artists  had  a 
very  personal  quality ;  and  in  both  there  is  more  of  emotional  atmosphere 
than  is  usual  in  Ukiyo-ye.  Shunman  is  especially  noted  for  prints  designed 
in  a  harmony  of  silvery  grey  and  black,  with  a  few  delicate  notes  of  colour. 
His  most  important  work,  a  six- sheet  composition  of  “  The  Six  Tamagawa," 


99 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


is  in  this  manner  ;  only  a  sober  green  and  sparse  touches  of  pink  relieving 
here  and  there  the  prevailing  black  and  grey.  His  figures  and  draperies 
prolong  themselves  in  sinuous  subtleties  of  line ;  there  is  a  touch  of  the 
fantastic  in  his  designs.  A  rare  but  well-known  triptych  of  his  represents 
a  party  going  home  in  groups  at  night  from  a  poetry-class.  As  is  usual  in 
Japanese  art,  the  darkness  is  not  allowed  to  prevent  our  seeing  everything 
clearly ;  but  here  everything  is  in  the  black  or  grey  of  night  except  just 
where  the  lantern-light  is  cast  and  shows  up  what  it  illuminates  in  colour. 
This,  of  course,  was  no  tentative  naturalism,  but  a  playful  caprice  that 
amused  the  artist.  Shunman's  frequent  avoidance  of  colour  was  perhaps 
wise,  for  in  his  rare  full- coloured  designs  he  was  not  altogether  happy  in 
his  control  of  vivid  tints,  finely  composed  though  they  are. 

The  prints  of  Temmei,  apart  from  actor-prints,  can  rarely  be  dated 
precisely.  But  one  diptych  of  Utamaro's  can  be  referred  to  the  year  1788. 
This  is  a  print  depicting  a  party  at  Mio-no-Matsubara,  the  legendary 
scene  of  the  angel's  dance  in  the  famous  No  play,  the  **  Robe  of  Feathers," 
and  celebrating  the  admission  of  a  sake  merchant  Shurakusai  (himself 
portrayed  in  the  print)  to  a  club  of  poets  called  **  The  Yoshiwara  Circle." 
It  has  all  the  delicacy  of  Utamaro's  draughtsmanship  at  this  period — it 
was  in  1788  that  the  Insect  Book  was  published — and  is  exquisitely  com¬ 
posed. 

Of  about  the  same  date  are  two  fine  triptychs  of  Kiyonaga's  ;  and  we 
find  that  by  now  Kiyonaga's  proportions  have  become  normal.  These 
triptychs  are  the  **  Visit  to  Enoshima  "  and  the  **  Cherry  Blossom  at 
Asuka-yama."  The  first  is  reproduced  in  the  V.I.  Catalogue ,  Plate  XXV, 
the  second  in  Gookin's  Japanese  Prints  and  their  Designers,  page  36.  Kiyo¬ 
naga's  drawing  of  simple  action  and  gesture,  as  in  the  maid  tying  her 
mistress's  sandals  in  the  **  Enoshima,"  is  as  masterly  as  ever  ;  and  in  both 
the  out-of-door  atmosphere  is  wonderfully  realized.  The  **  Asuka-yama  " 
is  notable  for  its  daring  colour  ;  the  pinks  and  blacks  of  the  dresses  stand 
out  against  broad  masses  of  vivid  green  grass.  No  modern  impressionist 
of  Europe  has,  with  all  the  contrast  of  shadow,  more  successfully  evoked 
the  splendour  of  spring  sunshine  among  the  blossoming  trees. 

Utamaro's  diptych,  and  other  prints  by  him  of  the  same  date,  like  the 
**  Women  drying  clothes  on  a  roof,"  are  more  learned  and  subtle  in 
design ;  but  the  Kiyonaga  triptychs  with  their  greater  amplitude  and 
simpler  harmony  were  no  doubt  likelier  to  capture  the  public.  Kiyonaga's 
prestige  was  by  now  enormous.  Besides  Shuncho,  Shunzan,  and  Shunman, 
the  latest  recruits  to  Ukiyo-ye  joined  in  imitation  of  his  style.  These  were 


100 


TEMMEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1781  TO  1789 

Yeishi,  Toyohiro,  and  Toyokuni ;  the  last  hardly  out  of  his  teens.  Kiyo- 
naga,  indeed,  might  have  complained  that 

Most  can  raise  the  flowers  now 

For  all  have  got  the  seed. 

So  easily,  it  seemed,  this  whole  generation  stepped  into  possession  of  his 
felicities.  The  reflection  may  occur  that  something  was  lacking  to  these 
felicities  if  they  were  so  delightfully  imitable.  In  fact,  what  these  younger 
artists  were  able  to  imitate,  with  more  or  less  of  personal  variation,  so 
successfully,  was,  chiefly,  the  feminine  type  which  Kiyonaga  had  created. 
Nor  was  it  difficult  for  an  able  draughtsman,  even  if  with  little  original 
gift  for  composition,  to  group  these  tall  and  gracious  figures  with  much  of 
Kiyonaga's  dignity.  For  the  master's  resources  in  relating  figures  to  each 
other  and  to  the  framing  space  seem  to  have  been  exhausted  with  the 
splendid  masterpieces  of  the  earlier  years  of  Temmei.  His  motives 
repeat  themselves  again  and  again,  and  are  further  repeated  by  his  followers. 
The  absence  of  mannerism  in  Kiyonaga's  work  of  the  Temmei  time,  its 
love  of  normal  beauty,  preserved  these  followers  from  carrying  any  one 
feature  to  excess  or  copying  the  master's  weaknesses  merely.  They  were 
besides  men  of  real  talent  and  sensitive  hand,  and  the  youngest  of  them 
were  soon  to  develop  styles  of  their  own. 


101 


CHAPTER  VII 
KWANSEI  PERIOD 

JANUARY  26TH,  1789,  TO  FEBRUARY  12TH,  180 


CHAPTER  VII 


KWANSEI  PERIOD 

JANUARY  26th,  1789,  TO  FEBRUARY  12TH,  1801 

Owing  to  physical  incapacity,  death,  or  some  other  cause,  many  of  the 
foremost  artists  of  Temmei  gradually  disappeared  during  the  Kwansei 
period.  Shunko,  paralysed  in  his  right  side,  had  perforce  to  quit  his 
calling  during  1791  ;  and,  after  shaving  his  head  in  token  of  retirement 
from  the  world,  he  entered  the  monastery  of  Zenshoji  at  Asakusa  (Zena- 
pukuji  is  believed  to  be  a  biographical  error). 

Shunsho  died  on  January  22nd,  1793.  Kiyonaga,  for  some  unknown 
reason,  practically  gave  up  print-designing  soon  after  1790  when  about 
forty  years  of  age.  Kitao  Masanobu,  too,  almost  entirely  abandoned  art 
for  literature  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-nine.  Shunman,  when  about 
thirty-four,  devoted  his  talents  to  composing  kyoka  and  to  designing 
surimono  and  book  illustrations,  especially  orihon  or  folding  albums. 
Masayoshi,  at  about  the  same  time  as  Masanobu,  turned  his  attention  to 
illustrating  books  mostly  with  rapid  drawings  of  considerable  ingenuity 
known  as  ryaku-gwa-shiki.  Shigemasa,  Toyoharu,  Shuncho,  and  Shunzan 
designed  very  few  prints  after  Temmei.  Thus  the  depletion  was  serious  ; 
and,  had  it  not  been  for  the  two  great  geniuses,  Utamaro  and  Sharaku, 
coupled  with  men  like  Yeishi  and  his  pupils,  Choki,  Toyokuni,  Shunyei, 
Kiyomasa,  and  other  talented  but  less  known  artists,  the  Kwansei  period 
would  have  anticipated  the  decadence  that  overtook  Ukiyo-ye  in  the 
beginning  of  the  19th  century.  As  it  was,  the  combination  of  talent 
enumerated  above,  and  especially  that  of  Utamaro,  Choki,  and  Sharaku, 
resulted  in  work  no  whit  inferior  to,  and  certainly  as  important  as,  that  of 
Temmei.  Moreover,  a  number  of  orihon  or  folding  albums  containing 
coloured  woodcuts  that  rank  as  high  as  the  colour  books  of  Anyei  and 
Temmei,  already  mentioned,  were  issued  by  Tsutaju  at  the  commencement 
of  this  period.  Utamaro  contributed  the  Waka  Yebisu ,  1  vol.  with  5 
colour-plates,  undated,  c.  1789 ;  Kyogetsubo,  1  vol.  with  5  colour-plates, 
8th  month  of  1789  ;  Ginsekai,  1  vol.  with  5  colour-plates,  1790  ;  Fugenzo , 
1  vol.  with  5  colour-plates,  1790 ;  Shiohi-no-tsuto ,  1  vol.  with  8  colour- 
plates,  undated,  c.  1790 ;  and  Momo  chidori  kyoka  awase ,  2  vols.  with  15 
colour-plates,  undated,  c.  1791.  In  the  Hayashi  sale  catalogue  (Paris, 
1902),  and  elsewhere,  1786  is  given  as  the  date  of  Waka  Yebisu ,  but  the 
album  bears  no  date  nor  does  the  style  warrant  the  ascription  of  so  early  a 
date.  Kurth  ( Utamaro ,  Leipzig,  1907,  page  303)  gives  c.  1780  for  the 

105 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


date  of  Shiohi-no-Tsuto,  though  the  style  of  the  figure  subjects  of  the 
first  and  last  plates  is  clearly  that  of  early  Kwansei.  Kitao  Masayoshi 
contributed  the  Yehon  Kivacho  kagami,  alternative  title  Kai-haku  raikin 
zu-i ,  i  vol.  with  12  coloured  plates  (10  of  birds  and  flowers,  and  2  of 
Chinamen),  published  by  Gungyokudo  Matsumoto  Zembei  in  1789, 
which  has  been  sometimes  wrongly  attributed  to  Utamaro.  Though  this 
book  is  of  great  artistic  beauty  and  a  triumph  of  skilful  engraving  and 
printing,  the  designs  are  not  original,  but  were  copied  by  Masayoshi  from 
paintings  made  by  Bakushin  Seki  Yeibun  in  1788. 

Another  book,  published  by  Yamasaki  Kimbei  in  1  vol.  dated  1789, 
entitled  Sanju  Bok’kasen  (alternative  title  Kasen  Kumo-ino  Hand)  and 
illustrated  in  colours  by  Shunsho,  is  certainly  the  finest  presentation  of 
the  celebrated  thirty-six  poets  in  existence.  Each  of  these  volumes  in  the 
original  issue  with  the  colours  fresh  and  untarnished  forms  a  precious 
heritage  of  the  Kwansei  period. 

Such  biographical  details  as  are  at  present  available  of  the  new-comers 
are  recorded  below. 

Chokosai  Yeisho,  Ichirakutei  Yeisui,  Choyensai  Yeishin,  Yeiri  I, 
Yeiju,  Yeiryu,  Yeicho,  and  Yeiri  II  were  pupils  of  Yeishi,  and  worked 
at  various  dates  during  Kwansei  from  about  1793  much  in  the  style  of  their 
master  with  more  or  less  pronounced  individuality,  especially  noticeable 
in  the  work  of  the  first-named  four.  Dates  of  birth  and  death  of  these 
artists  are  unknown.  It  is  remarkable  that,  though  Yeishi  had,  as  we  have 
seen,  pupils,  yet  neither  he  nor  they  used  a  school  appellation  such  as 
Katsukawa,  Utagawa,  Katsushika,  and  so  on.  It  is,  therefore,  not  strictly 
correct  to  speak  of  the  Hosoda  school  in  referring  to  this  group.  Their 
prints,  many  of  which  are  signed  “  So-and-so  gi-gwa  ”  (drawn  for  amuse¬ 
ment),  lead  one  to  conjecture  that  they  considered  themselves  rather  as 
amateurs  than  professionals.  They  eschewed  the  stage  and  Uki-ye,  though 
Yeishi  himself  frequently  added  as  backgrounds  to  his  pictures  little 
vistas  of  natural  scenery — a  practice  common  to  his  contemporaries  Kiyo- 
naga,  Shuncho,  Shunzan,  and  Utamaro,  and  that  admirably  served  to 
break  the  monotony  of  figure-subjects. 

Torii  Kiyomasa  was  the  son  and  pupil  of  Kiyonaga.  He  was  born  1777 ; 
the  date  of  his  death  is  unknown.  He  worked  from  1793  to  1795 
inclusive ;  but  very  few  of  his  prints  have  survived.  His  two  best  are 
bust  portraits  on  white  mica  ground,  signed  “  Torii  Kiyomasa  gwa,”  of 
Takashima  O  Hisa  and  Naniwaya  O  Kita,  which  were  published  by 
Tsuruki  (Tsuruya  Kiyemon)  about  1793,  and  in  which  the  influence  of 

106 


KWANSEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1789  TO  1801 

Kiyonaga  is  striking.  These  two  girls  were  tea-house  waitresses  famed, 
from  about  1789  to  1793  inclusive,  as  Yedo's  most  popular  beauties. 

Utamaro  and  Shuncho  also  drew  their  portraits  which  were  printed  in 
the  same  technique.  The  tea-houses  ( Mizu  cha-ya )  in  which  Hisa  and 
Kita  served  were  situated  at  Ryogoku  and  Asakusa  respectively,  whence 
they  were  called  after  the  parlance  of  the  wrestling- ring  **  Champions  of 
the  East  and  West/'  Ryogoku  being  east  of  Asakusa.  On  one  of  Utamaro's 
prints,  published  about  1790  by  Marubun  (Maruya  Bunyemon),  in  which 
a  young  girl  presents  O  Kita  with  a  cup  of  tea,  whilst  a  matron  seated  on  a 
bench,  fan  in  hand,  looks  on,  are  inscribed  three  poems,  from  one  of  which 
we  may  gather  her  immense  popularity.  Its  meaning  is  as  follows  : 
**  Rival  guests  come  in  crowds  to  Naniwaya,  where  through  white  plum 
blossoms  is  wafted  the  fragrant  scent  of  infused  tea." 

Kiyomasa  sometimes  signed  as  the  "humble  son"  ( segare )  of  Kiyonaga. 

Toshusai  Sharaku  was  the  brush-name  of  a  No  actor  named  Saito  Jurobei, 
formerly  in  the  service  of  the  Daimyo  of  Awa.  Without  apparently  any 
instruction  in  drawing  or  painting  and  relying  on  his  natural  talent  he 
suddenly  appeared  in  1794  under  the  aegis  of  Tsutaju  (Tsutaya  Jusaburo), 
and  bewildered  the  Yedo  public  with  a  succession  of  portraits  of  actors  in 
character  which  were  looked  at  askance  and  regarded  as  exaggerations 
almost  amounting  to  caricatures  of  their  favourites. 

Happily  connoisseurs  were  not  wanting  who  recognized  their  merit,  and 
it  is  to  the  discrimination  of  these  men  that  we  owe  the  prints  that  have 
come  down  to  us.  Despite  this  cold  reception,  Tsutaju,  with  his  innate 
perception  of  genius,  continued  to  publish  Sharaku's  work  until  he  was 
compelled  by  continued  losses  to  discontinue  after  1795,  when  Sharaku 
disappeared.  His  death  occurred  in  Kyowa  1  (1801)  when  he  was  known  as 
Yurin,  under  which  brush-name  he  is  said  to  have  executed  some  oil 
paintings,  though  none  have  so  far  come  to  light. 

Dr.  Julius  Kurth,  in  his  work  on  Sharaku  published  in  1910  (second 
edition  in  1922),  attempts  to  prove  that  he  was  at  work  as  early  as  1787, 
and  reproduces  a  print  signed  Sharaku  gwa  of  the  actor  Onoye  Matsusuke 
in  the  role  of  Otoha  Oba  which  he  attributes  to  that  year.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  this  actor  took  this  part  in  the  play  “  Oyama  Beni-tsui  no  Hademono," 
produced  at  the  Kawarasaki  theatre  from  the  5th  month  of  Bunkwa  I 
(June-July,  1804).  Moreover,  a  glance  at  the  print  will  convince  one 
that  it  is  not  the  work  of  Sharaku  at  all.  Probably  a  dishonest  tradesman 
imprinted  Sharaku's  signature  upon  the  unsigned  work  of  another  artist, 
and  fraudulently  passed  it  as  a  genuine  Sharaku. 

107 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


Kurth  also  reproduces  a  genuine  Sharaku  portraying  a  wrestler-boy 
named  Daidozan  Bungoro,  which  he  attributes  to  the  year  1790.  On  the 
face  of  this  print  is  an  inscription  giving  details  of  the  young  prodigy, 
and  the  words  U  no  hassai ,  which  he  interprets  as  meaning  that  Daidozan 
was  born  in  the  year  of  the  Hare  ( U )  and  that  the  portrait  was  drawn  when 
the  boy  was  eight  years  old  ( hassai ) ;  further,  that  as  the  year  of  the  Hare 
referred  to  was  1783  the  print  must  have  been  drawn  in  1790 — that  is, 
eight  years  later,  according  to  Japanese  reckoning.  But  this  interpretation 
is  incorrect ;  for  the  words  merely  mean  that  the  portrait  was  drawn  in 
the  year  of  the  Hare  when  the  boy  was  eight  years  of  age,  not  that  he  was 
born  in  the  year  of  the  Hare.  Choki  and  others  also  drew  portraits  of 
Daidozan,  inscribed  u  Year  of  the  Tiger,  seven  years  ” ;  so  that,  if  we 
follow  Kurth's  interpretation,  the  unfortunate  prodigy  was  also  born  in 
the  year  of  the  Tiger  (1782),  an  obvious  absurdity.  But,  apart  from  this, 
Daidozan's  birth  took  place  on  the  15th  day  of  the  2nd  month  of  Temmei 
8  (22nd  of  March,  1788),  and  he  was  eight  years  old  (according  to 
native  reckoning)  in  1795,  which  is  the  date  of  the  print  by  Sharaku  ;  that 
of  Choki's  being  1794,  when  also  Utamaro  drew  his  portrait. 

In  the  Ukiyoye  Rniko  the  following  account  is  given  of  Sharaku's  period 
of  activity :  u  Sharaku,  pseudonym  Toshusai,  drew  portraits  of  stage 
actors  from  life  ;  but,  because  he  exaggerated  the  truth,  they  were  shape¬ 
less  and  hence  were  unpopular  ;  he  ceased  work  in  a  year  or  two.”  Though 
the  years  are  not  given,  a  comparison  of  Sharaku's  work  with  stage  records 
proves,  when  identification  has  been  possible  (for  owing  to  the  incomplete¬ 
ness  of  these  records  many  roles  are  still  untraced),  that  1794  and  1795 
are  meant.  Unless  therefore  definite  proof  is  obtained  that  Sharaku's 
designs  for  the  wood-block  were  made  in  any  years  but  these,  it  would  be 
unwise  to  ignore  the  direct  statement  of  the  Ruiko . 

Attempts  have  been  made  by  Kurth  and  others  to  place  a  chronological 
order  on  Sharaku's  prints  according  to  their  size,  or  to  their  being  bust 
portraits,  or  full-length  figures,  etc. ;  but  the  identification  of  many  of 
the  roles  proves  this  to  be  abortive,  as  the  following  selection  will  show : 

A.  Oban  tate-ye .  Two  full-length  figures,  signed  **  Toshusai  Sharaku 
gwa,”  in  which  powdered  mica  has  been  applied  to  a  background  coloured 
either  with  pale  pink  or  with  white  lead  mixed  with  purple. 

1.  Otani  Oniji  II  as  Ukiyo  Kohei  and  Ichikawa  Omezo  I  as  Tomita 
Hyotaro  in  play  “  Nihon  matsu  Michinoku  sodachi,”  at  Kawarazaki-za 
from  July  27th,  1794.  Kurth,  No.  17c  (Plate  30). 

108 


KWANSEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1789  TO  1801 

2.  Sawamura  Sojuro  III  as  Nagoya  Sanza  and  Segawa  Kikunojo  III  as 
the  Keisei  Katsuragi  in  play  as  above.  Kurth,  No.  17A  (Plate  28). 

3.  Sakata  Hangoro  III  as  Fuwa  Banzayemon  and  Ichikawa  Yao zo  III 
as  Kosodate  no  Kwanon-bo  in  play  “  Keisei  sambon  karakasa  ”  at  Miyako- 
za  from  autumn  of  1794.  Kurth,  No.  17B  (Plate  29). 

4.  Nakayama  Tomisaburo  as  the  Shinmachi  keisei  Umegawa  and  Ichi¬ 
kawa  Komazo  II  as  Kamiya  Chubei  in  play  “  Yomo  no  nishiki  kokyo  no 
tabiji  ”  at  Kiri-za  from  September  13th,  1794.  Vignier,  No.  331  (Plate  99). 

B.  Oban  tate-ye .  Large  head  and  bust  portraits,  signed  **  Toshusai 
Sharaku  gwa,”  on  dark  mica  ground. 

1.  Matsumoto  Koshiro  IV  as  Banzui-in  Chobei  in  play  “  Shimekazari 
kichi-rei  Soga  ”  at  Kawarazaki-za  from  March  21st,  1795.  Kurth,  No. 
201  (Plate  44). 

2.  Ichikawa  Monnosuke  II  as  Katanaya  Hanshichi  in  second  act  of  play 
**  Go-hiiki  no  hana  aikyo  Soga  ”  at  Kawarazaki-za  from  January  31st, 
1794.  Kurth,  No.  20G  (Plate  40). 

3.  Onoye  Matsusuke  as  Hakuhatsu  (grey-haired)  Sasaki  Ganryu  in  play 
“  Kataki-uchi  nori-ai  banashi  ”  at  Miyako-za  from  September  28th,  1794. 
Kurth,  No.  20N  (Plate  46). 

4.  Morita  Kanya  IX  as  Uguisu  no  Jirosa,  a  sedan-chair  bearer,  in  same 
play  as  the  last  (3).  Kurth,  No.  20M  (Plate  45). 

5.  Ichikawa  Omezd  as  Teraoka  Heiyemon,  about  to  slay  his  sister  O  Karu 
on  her  confessing  that  she  had  read  Lady  Kaoyo's  letter  to  Yuranosuke,  in 
play  “  Chushingura  ”  at  Kawarazaki-za  from  June  21st,  1795.  Kurth, 
No.  20H  (Plate  41). 

6.  Segawa  Kikunojo  III  as  Tsukubane,  the  wife  of  Ashiya  Doman  in 
play  u  O-uchi  kagami  ”  at  Miyako-za  from  October  13th,  1795.  Kurth, 
No.  20X  (Plate  56). 

C.  Hoso-ye .  Full-length  figure  on  yellow  ground,  signed  **  Sharaku 
gwa.” 

1.  Sakata  Hangord  III  as  Yawazu  no  Yadahei. 

2.  Ichikawa  Danjuro  VI  as  Mimana  Yukinori.  Kurth,  No.  7B,  c 
(Plate  18). 

3.  Nakayama  Tomisaburo  as  the  cowherd  O  Fude. 

4.  Ichikawa  Yaozo  III  as  the  spirit  of  Chujo  Sanekata. 

109 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


5.  Sakakiyama  Sangoro  (described  by  Kurth  as  Fujikawa  Murajiro)  as 
Odai-hime,  the  daughter  of  Michinaga.  Kurth,  No,  7A  and  No.  8b,  c 
(Plate  19). 

6.  Nakayama  Tomisaburo  as  Kiri  Kamuro,  and  Ichikawa  Yaozo  III  as 
Sendai-za  Tohagi-no-Ichi  in  a  shosa  (mimetic  dance).  Kurth,  No,  6  a,  b 
(Plate  17).  All  the  above  from  play  “  Otokoyama  O  Yedo  banjaku  "  at 
Kiri-za  kaomise  (opening  performance  of  a  play)  from  December,  1794. 

D.  Oban  tate-ye .  Bust  portrait  on  yellow  ground  with  actor's  ya-gd, 
haimyo ,  Jd-mon,  and  Kae-mon,  signed  **  Sharaku  gwa.'' 

1.  Yamashita  Kinsaku  II  as  Satsuki,  the  wife  of  Takeda  Mitsuhide,  in 
play  **  Tokiwa  ima  kuruwa  no  hanamichi  ''  at  Kiri-za  from  April  29th, 
1795.  Kurth,  No.  15c  (Plate  26), 

It  has  sometimes  been  stated,  probably  in  the  belief  that  Sharaku  was 
at  work  at  an  earlier  date  than  1794,  that  he  was  the  first  to  use  mica  for 
silvering  the  background ;  also  that  his  profession  as  a  iVo-actor  influenced 
his  art,  since  he  would  have  before  his  eyes  the  masks  worn  in  performances 
of  the  No  ;  and  that  he  was  the  first  to  design  prints  of  large  head 
and  bust  portraits.  As  regards  the  first  point,  Utamaro  used  the  white 
mica  grounds  from  1790,  four  years  before  Sharaku's  debut.  There  is, 
moreover,  a  hoso-urushi-ye  by  Okumuru  Masanobu  in  the  British  Museum 
collection  (No.  6,  p.  20  of  the  catalogue  by  Laurence  Binyon,  1916),  in 
which  mica  is  used  for  the  background  and  was  apparently  contemporary 
with  the  print.  We  also  find  touches  of  mica  in  three  books  of  the  Anyei 
and  Temmei  periods. 

In  respect  to  the  second  point  the  facial  expression  and  the  gestures  of 
the  actors  portrayed  by  Sharaku,  full  as  they  are  of  intense  human  emotions, 
are  far  removed  from  the  impassive  mien  of  the  iVo-masks  and  the  studied 
gestures  of  the  TVo-actors.  As  for  the  third  point,  we  have  recorded  (p.  98) 
a  large  head  by  Shunyei  dated  1787,  and  reproduce  another  of  1790. 
There  is  also  a  large  head  by  Shunko  of  Ichikawa  Monnosuke  II  as  Soga 
no  Goro  Tokimune  in  the  play  “  Shunshoku  Yedo-ye  Soga,"  produced  at 
the  Ichimura-sa  from  February,  1791. 

Kabukido  Yenkyo  worked  during  1796,  for  about  six  months  only,  in 
feeble  imitation  of  Sharaku,  but  the  public  considered  his  prints  so  unskilful 
that  he  was  forced  to  give  up.  No  publisher's  name,  seal,  nor  trade-mark 
are  as  far  as  is  known  to  be  found  on  his  prints.  Possibly  he  was  an  amateur 
admirer  of  Sharaku 's  genius  and  strove  under  this  name  to  emulate  him. 


no 


KWANSEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1789  TO  1801 

Utagawa  Kunimasa  was  a  pupil  of  Toyokuni.  According  to  Zoho 
Ukiyoye  ruiko  he  worked  from  the  end  of  Kwansei  and  during  Kyowa 
and  Bunkwa ;  and,  according  to  Ukiyoye  Meika  Shoden,  he  died  in  the 
nth  month  of  Bunkwa  7  (began  November  27th,  1810)  at  the  age  of 
thirty- eight.  If  this  was  so,  he  was  born  in  1773,  and  was  but  four  years 
junior  to  Toyokuni.  But  these  statistics  are  wholly  unreliable  for  the 
following  reasons.  His  name  appears  amongst  the  contributors  to  the 
monument  erected  by  his  pupils  and  others  to  Toyokuni's  memory  in 
mid-autumn,  1828,  at  which  date,  therefore,  he  was  still  living.  There 
exist,  moreover,  a  print  and  a  surimono  by  him  of  Danjuro  VII  as  Sada- 
mitsu  in  a  shibaraku  act  in  the  play  “  Yama-mata-yama,"  produced  at  the 
Ichimura-za  in  December  kaomise  of  1823,  which  cannot  be  by  Kunimasa 
II,  who  was  only  born  in  that  year.  Judging  from  his  work,  he  entered 
Toyokuni's  studio  about  1794-1795,  and  began  designing  prints  in  the 
latter  year.  He  continued  up  to  and  including  1823,  after  which  he  painted 
actor's  masks  for  sale.  His  personal  name  was  Jinsuke ;  but  the  actual 
dates  of  his  birth  and  death  remain  to  be  discovered. 

Just  prior  to  Sekiyen's  death  (September  2nd,  1788),  Utamaro  established 
the  Ki-ta-gawa  sub-school,  his  first  pupil  being  Yukimaro,  a  book- 
illustrator  only  whose  first  work  (a  kibydshi  suppressed  by  the  authorities) 
was  published  during  1788.  A  second  and  a  third  pupil  were  Toyomaro 
and  Kikumaro.  The  former  designed  a  few  prints  signed  “  Utamaro's 
pupil  Toyomaro  "  about  the  first  half  of  Kwansei.  Kikumaro  worked 
about  1795  to  1805  inclusive  under  that  studio-name,  and  then  under 
that  of  Tsukimaro.  He  gave  up  print- designing  about  1820.  His  personal 
name  was  Rokusaburo.  Dates  of  birth  and  death  of  these  three  and  the 
following  ten  artists  are  unknown.  Tamagawa  Shucho  was  at  work  in 
the  latter  half  of  Kwansei,  as  were  also  his  pupils  Sencho  and  Bunro  and 
Yenjutei  Banki,  a  pupil  of  Sekiyen.  Shucho  designed  Ukiye,  Surimono, 
and  Kwacho ,  in  addition  to  figures,  the  other  three  confining  themselves 
to  the  latter. 

Sawa  Sekkyo  was  a  pupil  of  Tsutsumi  Torin,  and  made  a  few  prints  of 
birds,  uki-ye,  and  small  landscapes  about  the  close  of  the  period  and  the 
beginning  of  the  19th  century. 

Katsukawa  Hosho  and  Katsukawa  Shunyen,  Shunri,  and  Shunrin  were 
pupils  of  Shunsho.  Hosho  designed  a  few  actor-prints  during  the  first 
half  of  the  period,  the  remainder  during  the  latter  half.  Shunyen,  who 
designed  but  three  actor-prints  as  up  till  now  recorded,  showed  uncommon 
strength,  and  one  regrets  that  his  output  was  so  limited. 


hi 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 

Rekisentei  Sorin,  a  pupil  of  Rekisentei  Yeiri,  designed  a  few  prints 
about  1799  to  1802. 

Katsukawa  Shuntei,  common  name  Yamaguchi  Chojuro,  was  born  in 
1770,  entered  Shunyei's  studio  about  1795,  and  during  the  latter  half  of 
Kwansei  designed  actor-prints  in  his  master's  style.  Most  of  his  work 
belongs  to  the  Kyowa  and  Bunkwa  periods,  and  consists  of  battle  scenes, 
warriors,  and  landscapes,  these  latter  much  in  the  manner  of  those  of 
Hokuju  in  which  European  influence  is  very  striking.  He  died  in  1820. 

At  the  close  of  1796,  Shunro  changed  his  name  to  Hyakurin  Hishikawa 
Sori,  having  succeeded  to  the  title  as  the  fourth  of  the  name,  the  third 
being  the  illustrator  to  the  44  Segen  Jui  "  of  Kyosen  already  mentioned, 
published  in  1758.  The  first  two  Sori  were  painters  only.  In  1797  he 
added  the  name  of  Hokusai  to  that  of  Sori,  and  in  1799  assumed  that  of 
Kako  without,  however,  discarding  that  of  Hokusai.  During  this  year  he 
bestowed  the  name  of  Sori  on  his  pupil  Soji,  who  thus  became  the  fifth 
Sdri,  and  who  also  used  the  art  surname  of  Hishikawa.  This  artist  was  a 
designer  of  surimono  and  book-illustrations.  A  surimono  of  three  ladies 
playing  a  game  of  Ken ,  and  dated  Spring  of  the  Monkey  year  1800,  is 
signed  Tawara  Sori,  Tawaraya  being  the  name  of  the  two  first  Sori.  A 
book  entitled  Yehon  Shokunin  Kagami ,  1  vol.,  in  colours,  published  by  the 
firm  of  Tsutaju  in  the  beginning  of  1803,  is  signed  “  Hishikawa  Sori." 
The  illustrations  to  this  book  had  already  appeared  as  surimono  signed 
Sori  and  dated  beginning  of  1802.  This  artist  was  Hokusai's  first  pupil, 
when  about  the  close  of  1796  the  former  established  a  sub-school  of  his 
own.  Though  Hokusai  is  said  to  have  studied  under  various  masters  such 
as  Sumiyoshi  Hiroyuki,  Shiba  Kokan,  Tsutsumi  Torin,  and  the  third  Sori, 
it  is  more  likely  that  he  studied  their  styles  only,  taking  a  wrinkle  from  one 
and  a  hint  from  another,  and  finally  forming  his  own  style.  An  interesting 
and  rare  set  entitled  44  Yedo  hakkei,"  eight  views  of  Yedo  in  the  semi- 
European  style,  each  measuring  a  little  less  than  3!  x  4!  in.,  appeared 
about  1799.  On  the  envelope  in  which  they  were  issued,  besides  the 
above  title,  are  the  words  44  Oranda  gwakyo  Hokusai  sensei  no  zu,"  that  is, 
“  A  pictorial  mirror  in  Dutch  style,  drawn  by  the  Master  Hokusai."  They 
were  printed  on  glazed  paper,  the  colours  being  indigo,  yellow,  dark 
green,  and  brown,  being  very  similar  to  those  used  later  by  Shuntei, 
Hokuju,  and  Shinsai  in  their  semi-European  landscapes. 

Hokusai  himself  always  maintained  that  he  was  44  self-made."  About 
1797,  Sori  IV  (i.e.  Hokusai)  began  to  design  surimono ,  the  literal  meaning 
of  which  is  44  printed  thing,"  but  which  is  in  practice  the  term  applied  to 


112 


KWANSEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1789  TO  1801 

a  style  of  colour-print  quite  distinct  from  the  Nishiki-ye .  At  this  time  he 
was  in  very  straitened  circumstances,  but  managed  to  support  life  by 
illustrating  kibydshi,  designing  surimono,  and  hawking  red  pepper  and 
calendars.  Surimono  had,  on  rare  occasions,  been  printed  long  before  this, 
one  in  the  British  Museum  collection  being  by  Moronobu ;  but  the  Sori 
surimono  with  their  delicate  tints  and  exquisite  refinement  were  an  innova¬ 
tion.  Several  of  these  from  the  beginning  of  1800  are  signed  “  Hokusai,  the 
man  who  is  painting  mad  ”  (Gwakyojin  Hokusai).  In  this  connection, 
it  is  to  be  noted  that  Mr.  F.  W.  Gookin,  in  his  catalogue  of  the  sale  of  the 
late  Alexis  Rouart  (New  York,  February  6th  and  7th,  1922),  under  item 
350  :  “  The  apparition  of  Yamauba,”  a  role  played  by  Yebizo  (Danjuro  V) 
on  or  about  November  29th,  1796 — is  of  opinion  that  as  this  print  is  signed 
Gwa-kyo-jin  Hokusai  he  must  have  used  this  signature  some  years  earlier 
than  has  hitherto  been  supposed. 

Teisai  Hokuba  was  a  pupil  of  Hokusai  about  1799.  His  real  name  was 
Arisaka  Gorohachi,  and  he  was  born  at  Yedo  in  1771.  His  work  almost 
entirely  consists  of  book-illustrations  and  surimono ,  one  of  the  latter  bearing 
the  date  of  Spring  1800.  A  very  rare  and  interesting  book  of  poems, 
privately  printed  and  issued  in  the  1st  month  of  Kyowa  2  (1802),  and 
consisting  of  two  volumes  entitled  Kyoka  maku-no-uchi,  contains  several 
of  his  illustrations  in  black  and  white,  typical  of  his  style. 

By  the  close  of  Temmei  period  it  seemed  as  if  Ukiyo-ye  must  have 
exhausted  its  themes.  What  new  field  could  be  found,  when  all  the  daily 
life  of  the  Yedo  populace  had  been  so  richly  illustrated  i  In  depicting  the 
outdoor  amusements  and  festivals  of  the  people,  with  their  landscape 
setting,  Kiyonaga  and  his  followers  had  completed  the  work  of  his  pre¬ 
decessors.  In  fact,  so  far  as  subject-matter  was  concerned,  Kwansei  period 
was  to  add  little  to  what  had  been  done  before,  though  Utamaro  did  bring 
in  new  motives,  as  we  shall  see.  Beautiful  women  of  the  day,  the  reigning 
beauties  of  the  tea-house  and  the  Yoshiwara,  and  the  famous  actors,  con¬ 
tinued  to  provide — the  former  even  more  than  before — endless  material 
for  the  artists'  brushes.  But  the  change  now  to  come  was  less  in  the 
choice  of  subject-matter  than  in  the  method  of  handling  it.  The  new 
intensity  of  Sharaku  in  theatrical  prints,  and  the  new  intensity  in  figure- 
design  by  Utamaro,  were  the  two  great  contributions  of  Kwansei  period 
to  Ukiyoye  history.  A  period  of  concentration  succeeded  to  a  period  of 
expansion.  And  yet  there  was  expansion,  too  ;  not  indeed  in  the  conquest 
of  fresh  material,  but  in  the  field  of  design  and  composition.  Here,  where 

113 


1 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


Kiyonaga's  range  was  narrow,  Utamaro  was  inexhaustible.  His  work  is 
full  of  surprises,  which  are  not  only  surprises  but  felicities.  There  is  no 
end  to  his  invention  in  the  arrangement  of  figures.  But  **  arrangement  ” 
suggests  a  cold  deliberation,  whereas  Utamaro's  ways  of  relating  one 
figure  to  another  have  the  quality  of  inspiration. 

Round  about  1790  is  a  sort  of  halcyon  period.  No  new  force  seems  to  be 
stirring  ;  an  atmosphere  of  serene  harmony  reigns.  Kiyonaga  no  longer 
astonishes  by  the  energy  of  his  creations ;  that  energy  is  a  little  waning. 
He  still  produces  beautiful  prints,  but  is  content  to  let  his  followers  exploit 
to  the  full  what  his  earlier  efforts  had  won.  Proportions  have  become 
normal ;  the  feminine  types  are  sweet  and  gracious  with  a  lovely  natural¬ 
ness  of  mien  and  gesture.  This  is  a  time  of  numerous  noble  triptychs. 
Let  us  instance  a  few  of  special  note.  As  typical  of  Kiyonaga's  latest  work 
at  its  best  we  may  take  the  well-known  print  of  girls  taking  refuge  from  a 
shower  in  a  temple  porch.  It  is  a  happy  motive,  to  be  repeated  by  Utamaro, 
and  again  by  Toyokuni  in  the  triptych  where  all  the  famous  actors  of  the 
day,  each  represented  in  character,  take  shelter  under  a  great  tree.  In 
Kiyonaga's  design  the  charm  of  natural  movement  and  gesture — note  the 
man  wringing  out  the  wet  from  his  sleeve  in  the  left-hand  sheet,  which  is 
the  most  fortunate  part  of  the  composition — is  a  delightful  element ;  but 
how  changed  are  these  rather  small  figures,  drawn  with  a  staid  line,  from 
the  magnificent  creatures  and  the  confidently  sweeping  brush-strokes  of 
ten  years  before  !  It  is  undeniably  a  tamer  phase  into  which  the  master 
passes  at  the  close  ;  almost  as  if  he  were  harking  back  to  Harunobu.  And 
now,  in  his  ripe  manhood,  at  a  time  of  life  when  some  of  the  other  masters 
of  Ukiyo-ye  were  only  beginning  to  put  forth  their  greatest  powers, 
Kiyonaga  retires. 

These  Japanese  artists  disconcert  all  our  Western  preconceptions.  We 
should  have  expected,  and  would  have  confidently  conjectured,  that  the 
works  of  Kiyonaga's  last  phase  preceded  instead  of  following  the  triumphant 
masterpieces  which  are  the  glory  of  Temmei  period.  They  seem  like  the 
work  of  one  who  is  still  a  little  cramped,  who  has  not  quite  found  himself, 
rather  than  the  work  of  one  whose  gift  has  “  gone  to  seed  "  from  over¬ 
production.  However  it  be,  we  observe  no  sign  of  a  fresh  start  or  new 
inspiration  in  Kiyonaga's  last  phase.  He  seems  content  to  close  the  book, 
and  leave  others  to  continue. 

The  spirit  of  this  particular  time,  its  mellow  and  serene  charm,  finds  no 
more  perfect  expression  than  in  the  series  of  Genji  triptychs  by  Yeishi. 
Nowhere  is  Ukiyo-ye  more  aristocratic,  without  ceasing  to  be  itself.  The 

114 


KWANSEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1789  TO  1801 

famous  amatorious  romance  of  Prince  Genji,  written  by  the  poetess  Mura- 
saki  Shikibu  in  the  10th  century,  was  the  favourite  theme  for  illustration 
of  the  painters  of  the  Tosa  school.  Yeishi,  unlike  most  of  the  Ukiyoye 
painters,  was  trained  as  a  painter  in  the  classic  tradition,  though  it  was 
not  to  the  Tosa  but  the  great  rival  school  of  Kano  that  he  originally  be¬ 
longed.  In  drawing  scenes  from  a  classic  romance  he  came  to  his  theme 
as  one  to  the  manner  born.  It  is  true  that  he  translated  it  into  Ukiyoye 
terms.  It  is  not  a  direct  illustration  of  the  romance  that  he  attempts. 
Before  the  title  is  put,  as  so  often  by  the  print-designers  when  parodying 
traditional  subjects,  the  word  Furyu ,  which  means  “  in  the  mode  of  the  day," 
“  up-to-date,"  or  “  popular."  But  it  is  not  a  travesty  in  the  sense  which 
that  word  has  come  to  connote.  There  is  no  satiric,  nor  even  playful 
intention.  It  is  simply  as  if  the  painter  said,  “  Why  should  the  Tosa 
academicians  monopolize  our  national  romance  i  Ukiyo-ye  shall  have  its 
Genji,  too."  And  so  he  draws  his  illustrations  to  various  chapters,  but 
instead  of  ladies  in  the  familiar  costume  of  the  court  ladies  in  the  old 
makimonOf  with  long  hair  trailing  down  their  backs  over  stiff  brocaded 
robes,  posed  in  immobile  attitudes,  we  see  gracious  figures  clothed  and 
coiffed  in  the  fashions  of  the  hour.  Yeishi's  instinct  for  elegance  serves 
him  admirably  in  these  beautiful  compositions.  The  colour  is  choice  and 
reserved.  Reds  and  pinks  are  excluded ;  and  a  harmony  of  blacks  and 
greys,  foiled  by  yellow,  purple,  and  green,  makes  a  felicitous  scheme.  The 
most  beautiful  of  all  these  Genji  triptychs  is  the  “  Concert."  It  is  one  of 
the  less  rare  and  best  known  of  the  set. 

But  it  is  obvious  that  work  like  this,  belonging  to  the  culmination  of  a 
certain  style,  and  characterized  by  balance  and  a  sort  of  golden  serenity, 
cannot  be  repeated  indefinitely.  Kiyonaga's  vein  is  worked  out.  A 
certain  glorious  phase  of  Ukiyo-ye  is  over.  What  is  to  follow  i  Who  is  to 
make  the  fresh  start  i  Just  as  after  Harunobu's  reign  there  is  a  natural 
reaction  from  his  almost  feminine  delicacy  and  his  small  forms,  so  now 
there  is  a  reaction  from  the  balanced  serenity  of  Kiyonaga — a  reaction 
towards  something  more  poignant  and  intense. 

As  we  have  seen,  Kiyonaga's  brilliant  followers  are  nearly  all,  from  one 
cause  or  another,  dropping  out.  The  chief  men  left  are  Yeishi,  Utamaro, 
Shunyei,  and  Toyokuni. 

It  is  true  that  Shunsho  was  still  alive  and  still  working  at  the  opening  of 
Kwansei.  The  print  reproduced  on  Plate  32  proves  that  his  powers  were 
as  vigorous  as  ever.  It  bears  the  kiwame  seal  and  cannot  therefore  be  earlier 
than  1790,  and  it  represents  Ichikawa  Monnosuke  II,  probably  as  Sagami 

ii5 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


Jird,  disguised  as  a  rustic  in  the  play  “  Iwa-no-hana  mine-no  Kusunoki,” 
performed  in  December  of  that  very  year. 

But  in  1793  the  master  who  had  worked  with  such  consistent  power  and 
distinction  all  through  Meiwa,  Anyei,  and  Temmei,  died.  We  have  seen 
already  that  the  assumption  generally  made  that  Kiyonaga  had  driven 
Shunsho  from  the  field  is  unfounded.  Not  only  did  Shunsho  maintain 
his  own  style  of  actor-print  to  the  end,  but  that  style  was  continued  into 
Kwansei  by  his  pupils  Shunkd  and  Shunyei.  We  noticed  in  the  last 
chapter  a  large  head  of  Ichikawa  Yaozo  III  by  Shunyei,  published  in 
1787.  In  1791  appeared  a  large  head  of  Monnosuke  II  by  Shunkd,  a 
striking  portrait  drawn  with  energetic  strokes  of  a  full  brush.  More  than 
a  decade  before,  during  Anyei  period,  Shunkd  had  designed  portrait  heads 
of  actors,  two  on  a  sheet,  either  side  by  side  or  one  above  the  other  ;  and 
probably  he  was  also  the  first  to  design  the  single  portrait  heads  on  a 
large  scale.  But,  so  far  as  we  know  at  present,  the  print  of  Yaozo  III 
published  by  Shunyei  in  1787  is  the  first  of  these.  We  reproduce  (PI.  34) 
a  characteristic  head  by  Shunyei  of  Ichikawa  Komazd  II  as  Sadakuro,  in 
the  play  “  Chuto  Ryogoku  ori,”  produced  at  the  Nakamura  theatre  in 
the  autumn  of  1790. 

But  Shunyei  had  not  abandoned  the  hoso-ye  print ;  there  are  designs  of 
his  in  this  form  of  a  later  date  than  this. 

Vigorous  and  dashing,  with  a  fluent  brush,  Shunyei,  still  quite  young, 
now  took  a  prominent  place ;  but  he  had  not  sufficient  originality  to 
become  a  real  leader.  In  non- theatrical  prints  he  followed  the  prevalent 
style  of  Temmei.  He  collaborated  at  times  in  single  sheets  with  Shuncho 
and  also  with  Utamaro. 

At  some  time  early  in  Kwansei,  perhaps  about  1792,  Shunyei  designed  a 
series  of  whole-length  figures  of  actors  which  are  his  most  distinguished 
work. 

One  of  these,  an  actor  as  Yuranosuke,  the  chief  of  the  Forty-seven  Ronin, 
is  specially  notable  for  its  dignity  and  the  simple  beauty  of  its  colour- 
scheme  of  dull  salmon  relieved  by  green.  And  much  about  the  same  time 
he  published  a  series  of  prints  of  whole-length  figures  of  wrestlers  which 
are  immensely  forcible  and  effective.  The  huge  burly  figures  fill  the  page, 
and  the  contrast  of  a  few  chosen  colours  tells  to  admiration.  Nevertheless, 
Shunyei,  even  at  his  strongest,  is  always  just  a  little  empty. 

Yeishi  had  followed  Kiyonaga  very  closely.  Was  he  strong  enough  to 
advance  on  lines  of  his  own  i  As  the  Kiyonaga  influence  fades  out  of  his 
work  he  appears  for  a  brief  time  uncertain,  then  responds  to  the  stimulus 

116 


KWANSEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1789  TO  1801 

of  Utamaro's  swiftly  expanding  genius  and  takes  his  cue  from  him,  as  we 
shall  shortly  see. 

Toyokuni,  in  his  fine  five-sheet  print  of  the  “  Main  Street  of  the  Yoshi- 
wara  ''  and  in  some  contemporary  triptychs,  shows  how  cleverly  he  has 
assimilated  the  Temmei  style  and  is  obviously  a  master  to  be  reckoned 
with,  one  of  the  coming  men.  Yet  we  feel  that  the  nobility  of  Kiyonaga's 
manner  is  only  superficially  imitated  in  his  prints.  A  certain  stiffness  of 
composition  is  a  fault  that  experience  can  overcome ;  but  in  his  types,  if 
we  compare  them  with  Shunchd's  or  Yeishi's,  not  to  mention  Kiyonaga's, 
there  is  a  certain  callousness  of  drawing,  a  lack  of  delicacy,  which  betray 
a  latent  coarseness  of  fibre.  Toyokuni  craves  for  the  emphatic ;  his  art 
has  a  need  of  sharp  condiments. 

And  what  of  Utamaro  i  During  Temmei  his  most  distinctive  work  had 
been  the  exquisite  book  of  Insects,  which  we  have  described,  and  which 
he  followed  up  with  the  Shell  book  and  the  Birds  and  Flowers,  published 
probably  in  1790  and  1791.  As  far  as  nishiki-ye  were  concerned,  he  had 
produced  comparatively  little.  He  had  not  challenged  Kiyonaga's 
supremacy,  and  had  taken  something  from  his  style.  Kiyonaga's  influence 
over  him  has  been  generally  exaggerated,  however,  for  his  methods  of 
composition  were  always  his  own ;  but  it  is  certainly  true  that  his  full 
range  and  capacity  did  not  appear  till  Kiyonaga  had  retired  from  the  field. 
It  is  plain  enough  that  of  all  the  masters  now  left  Utamaro  is  by  far  the 
most  original  force.  He  seems  in  no  haste  to  assert  himself,  but  we  have 
only  to  compare  his  prints  of  this  time  with  those  of  his  compeers  to 
perceive,  under  the  general  similarity  of  style,  a  very  real  difference.  The 
triptych  in  Chinese  style,  a  translation  into  Ukiyoye  terms  of  a  Chinese 
or  Kano  subject,  with  its  groups  of  figures  on  a  terrace  with  pavilions  on 
the  shores  of  a  lake,  makes  a  sort  of  parallel  to  Yeishi's  Genji  series  produced 
at  the  same  time,  and  seems  to  be  inspired  by  a  similar  intention  of  asserting 
the  claims  of  Ukiyo-ye  as  serious  art.  But  this  is  but  a  passing  experiment. 
Two  other  triptychs  of  the  same  time  depict  scenes  on  the  seashore  ;  one 
is  of  girls  and  children  watching  Awabi  fishers,  and  the  other  is  a  com¬ 
panion  piece  of  holiday-makers  fishing  with  rod  and  line.  In  these  prints 
there  is  a  freshness  and  sweetness  that  is  quite  delicious.  They  are  in  the 
style  of  Temmei,  but  with  a  difference.  Compared  with  the  work  of  the 
other  masters  of  the  close  of  Temmei  and  the  beginning  of  Kwansei,  they 
have  the  spirit  of  spring  rather  than  autumn.  One  would  say  they  belonged 
to  the  youth  of  a  period  rather  than  to  its  culmination.  The  Kiyonaga 
types  are  here,  and  the  outdoor  scene,  the  sense  of  fresh  air,  the  landscape 

117 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


setting,  are  what  Kiyonaga  had  brought  into  Ukiyo-ye.  But  again,  as 
before,  there  is  very  perceptible  that  genius  for  design,  for  relating  figures 
and  groups  to  one  another  with  natural  felicity  and  freshness,  in  which 
Utamaro  was  to  excel  all  his  compeers,  his  predecessors,  and  successors ; 
and  with  that  a  buoyancy,  a  playfulness,  a  sweetness,  such  as  had  hardly 
appeared  in  Ukiyo-ye  since  Harunobu.  At  the  same  time  it  must  be  said 
that  Utamaro  has  not  yet  shown  the  true  measure  of  his  gift*  Put  this 
early  triptych  of  Awabi  fishers  beside  the  famous  masterpiece  of  the  same 
subject  which  he  was  to  produce  some  eight  or  nine  years  later,  and  it 
appears  small  and  petty  in  comparison. 

To  this  time  (1790)  belong  the  beautiful  bust-portraits  of  beauties  of  the 
tea-houses,  O  Kita  of  Naniwa-ya,  O  Hisa  of  Takashima,  or  of  the  Green 
Houses,  like  Hana-ogi  of  Ogi-ya,  or  chanters  of  joruri  like  Toyohina, 
which  were  printed  on  mica  ground.  These  portraits  with  their  novel 
beauty  of  printing  no  doubt  made  a  stir  in  Yedo,  and  they  were  imitated 
by  other  artists.  Then  came  the  set  called  Seiro  Niwaka  onna  geisha  no  bu , 
not  to  be  confused  with  an  earlier  set  of  the  same  title,  of  half-length 
figures  of  girls  dressed  for  the  Niwaka  festival,  this  time  not  portrayed 
singly,  but  in  a  group  of  three,  pyramidally  arranged. 

As  something  of  a  freak,  we  must  mention  the  rare  three-quarter  length 
portrait  of  O  Kita  printed  on  both  sides  of  the  paper.  It  is  well  reproduced 
in  colours  in  Kurth's  Utamaro,  opposite  page  208.  Such  playful  ingenuities 
served  to  draw  attention  to  the  artist,  who  was  now  entering  on  a  period 
of  confident  productiveness,  casting  off  the  lingering  traces  of  Kiyonaga’s 
dominant  influence  and  emerging  with  a  formed  style  of  his  own. 

This  style  is  triumphantly  asserted  in  the  prints  of  about  1793.  Utamaro 
still  continues  the  half-length  figures  of  women  which  had  found  such 
favour.  In  the  series  Kasen  Koi  no  bu,  a  set  devoted  to  **  types  of  love/' 
some  of  the  prints,  grandly  designed,  have  an  individuality  of  portraiture 
and  an  intensity  of  delineation  such  as  Ukiyo-ye  had  never  known  before  ; 
for  example,  the  bust  portrait  of  the  young  married  woman  u  anxious  in 
love/'  leaning  her  cheek  on  her  hand  in  a  listening  attitude  ( Paris  Catalogue, 
Plate  XXXIV).  This  series  has  a  pink  mica  background,  another  novelty. 
Masterpieces  are  also  to  be  found  in  two  other  sets  of  this  time,  the  one 
called  Fujo  Ninso  Jippin,  u  Ten  Types  of  Women's  Physiognomies,"  and 
Fujin  Sogaku  Jittai . 

Both  these  sets  have  a  white  mica  ground,  the  title  being  on  a  tablet 
with  three  vertical  divisions.  These  prints  are  of  singular  beauty,  and 
among  them  are  things  which,  in  their  own  kind,  the  half-length  figure, 

118 


KWANSEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1789  TO  1801 

Utamaro  never  surpassed  ;  especially  we  may  mention  the  girl  looking  at 
her  lacquered  teeth  in  a  hand-mirror  (reproduced  in  colour  in  the  V.L 
Catalogue,  Plate  XIV),  which  in  spacing  and  design  is  incomparable. 

Utamaro's  interest  in  character  as  expressed  in  the  features  is  constant 
throughout  his  career.  His  nature  was  fastidious  and  critical,  and  he  was 
inclined  to  moralize. 

A  few  years  have  made  an  extraordinary  difference  in  Ukiyo-ye.  The 
mellow  calm  of  the  last  years  of  Temmei  is  exchanged  for  an  atmosphere 
of  excitement  and  enterprise,  recalling  earlier  days  when  new  experiments 
in  printing  spurred  the  rival  masters  to  surpass  each  other  in  exploiting 
them,  the  days  of  Okumura  Masanobu  when  the  first  6era-prints  were 
produced,  the  first  years  of  Meiwa,  and  the  days  when  Kiyonaga's  first 
big  sheets  took  Yedo  by  storm.  Utamaro  is  now  the  centre,  the  inspiring 
spirit.  About  this  time  Tsutaya  published  a  print  in  which  Utamaro  has 
portrayed  himself  at  work  on  an  ink-painting,  a  landscape,  with  O  Kita 
and  O  Hisa  looking  on.  This  is  less  well  known  than  the  much  later 
portrait  of  the  artist  painting  a  huge  H6-0  bird  in  the  Yoshiwara,  which 
forms  a  double-page  design  in  the  book  called  Seiro  yehon  nenju  gyoji  of 
1804,  but  is  of  great  interest  as  showing  Utamaro  in  his  prime.  He  had 
an  aquiline  nose  and  finely  featured  face. 

As  a  change  from  the  mica  background,  white  or  mixed  with  colour,  a 
yellow  ground  also  appeared  about  1790,  and  for  a  time  had  a  great  vogue. 
To  1793  or  1794  we  may  assign  Utamaro's  superb  triptych  of  women 
cutting  and  measuring  stuff  for  dresses.  The  left-hand  sheet  of  this, 
depicting  a  woman  holding  up  and  examining  a  piece  of  diaphanous  grey 
material  while  a  small  child  sprawls  across  her  knee  and  plays  with  a  fan, 
is  the  best  known  part  of  the  composition ;  but  the  whole  triptych  is 
designed  with  complete  mastery,  and  the  other  two  sheets  add  a  rosy  red 
to  the  colour-scheme,  which  with  the  wonderful  blacks  and  greys  and  the 
ground  of  full  yellow  is  light  and  strong  at  once.  The  design  gives  a  sense 
of  something  significant  to  what  is  ostensibly  a  most  ordinary  household 
scene.  Selection  and  emphasis  are  everywhere  at  work,  but  so  subtly  that 
there  is  no  hint  of  anything  adventitious,  of  means  forced  to  produce  an 
effect ;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  the  sheer  beauty  of  natural  movements  in 
people  who  are  absorbed  in  what  they  are  doing  which  takes  us  captive. 

To  the  same  time  belongs  a  single  sheet  which  is  one  of  Utamaro's 
master  works.  This  is  the  toilet  scene,  reproduced  in  colours  in  the 
Paris  V.L  Catalogue,  Plate  XL  1 1.  A  woman  sits  on  the  ground  bending 
forward  and  looking  with  intent  scrutiny  into  her  mirror  with  her  hair 

119 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


half  done,  while  a  companion  with  her  back  turned  sits  close  beside  her 
and  looks  into  her  own  mirror  as  she  also  knots  a  ribbon  in  her  hair.  This 
print  has  the  yellow  ground.  The  two  mirrors  with  their  round  form  and 
their  positive  lustrous  black  form  integral  parts  of  this  most  original 
design  ;  the  intent  attitude  of  the  two  girls  is  accentuated  by  the  opposed 
directions  in  which  their  figures  bend,  and  the  effect  is  such  that  the 
forms  of  the  design  seem  to  have  an  energy  altogether  transcending  the 
limits  of  the  space  within  which  they  are  set.  We  note  above  all  the 
singular  intensity  of  the  woman's  gaze.  Utamaro  has  often  drawn  women 
consulting  a  mirror  ;  it  is  with  him  a  favourite  subject.  But  nowhere  has 
he  put  more  pregnant  power  into  this  simple  motive.  With  his  imagination 
for  the  elemental  fact,  he  sees  woman  resorting  to  that  truth-telling  oracle, 
and  knows  that  never  priestess  interrogated  the  mysteries  of  her  shrine 
with  more  passionate  absorption.  The  beautiful  body,  the  young  linea¬ 
ments,  the  treasure  committed  by  abounding  Nature  to  her  charge  ;  in 
the  little  lucid  world  of  the  mirror  how  precious  these  seem,  how  anxiously 
to  be  scrutinized,  how  jealously  watched  and  cherished!  It  is  this  seizure 
of  the  aboriginal,  the  essential,  the  instinctive,  in  feminine  humanity  that 
distinguishes  Utamaro  among  all  the  artists  of  the  world. 

The  novelty  of  the  yellow- ground  prints  was  immensely  appreciated. 
Rival  artists  at  once  began  to  issue  them.  Yeishi  produced  his  set  of  six 
whole-length  figures  of  beauties,  Seiro  Bijin  Rokkasen ,  which  are  among 
the  finest  of  all  his  prints.  Exquisitely  printed,  and  with  a  great  refinement 
of  colour,  these  sheets  have  the  aristocratic  choiceness  and  elegance  which 
distinguish  Yeishi's  style.  Another  beautiful  set  which  followed  this  is 
the  set  of  three,  Seiro  San  Shikibu . 

Choki  also  designed  some  remarkable  prints  at  this  time  on  the  yellow 
ground.  One  is  reproduced  in  colour  in  the  Paris  V.L  Catalogue , 
Plate  XXXIV.  Shunyei  and  Toyokuni  did  not  fail  to  adopt  the  fashion 
of  the  moment.  There  is  a  most  effective  print  by  Shunyei  of  a  girl 
dancing  with  long  ribbons  swirling  from  two  sticks  held  in  her  hands. 

And  Toyokuni  rarely  did  anything  finer,  apart  from  the  vigorous  actor- 
prints  which  we  shall  record  later  on,  than  his  set  entitled  Furyu-jin-gi- 
rei-chi-shint  or  u  Popular  Representation  of  the  Five  Virtues."  One  of 
this  set,  the  u  Wisdom  "  (Chi) — reproduced  on  Plate  37 — representing  a 
tall  girl  in  a  white  dress  with  purple  iris  pattern  on  the  skirt,  looking  back 
as  she  leaves  a  room,  is  a  masterpiece.  Of  the  same  date  is  the  set  of  four, 
Furyu  Kin-ki-sho-gwa ,  one  of  which  is  reproduced  in  colours  by  Succo 
(Toyokuni,  Plate  34). 


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KWANSEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1789  TO  1801 

None  of  these  masters  approached  Utamaro  either  in  his  peculiar  intensity 
of  conception  or  in  his  originality  of  design — the  felicity  with  which  his 
figures  are  related  to  the  space  they  occupy,  or  to  other  figures,  the  variety 
of  invention  in  their  pose,  gesture,  and  movement.  But  now  in  this 
wonderful  year,  1794,  Utamaro  is  challenged,  and  challenged  with  im¬ 
perious  power,  by  an  apparition  from  the  unknown.  Sharaku  bursts  into 
the  world  of  Ukiyo-ye. 

Sharaku  is  something  of  a  portent.  With  the  other  Ukiyoye  masters 
we  can  trace  a  gradual  development  before  their  full  force  is  matured, 
sometimes  from  what  seem  quite  unpromising  beginnings.  But  the 
genius  of  Sharaku  starts  full-blown,  so  far  as  Ukiyo-ye  is  concerned. 
What  impelled  this  iVo-play  dancer  to  design  sets  of  prints  of  the  actors  in 
the  popular  theatres  of  Yedo,  we  do  not  know.  Some  Western  writers  have 
credited  him  with  a  savage  scorn  for  the  vulgar  Yedo  stage,  as  if  his  object 
had  been  to  hold  up  these  darlings  of  the  mob  to  contempt  by  portraying 
them  with  no  traditional  idealization,  but  as  they  really  were.  The 
assumption  seems  perfectly  gratuitous,  like  that  which  would  impute 
Kiyonaga's  retirement  to  a  disdainful  disgust  with  the  degeneracy  of  the 
age.  It  is  best  to  leave  motives  alone,  since  nothing  can  be  proved,  and 
in  conjecturing  what  is  in  a  Japanese  mind  from  external  evidence  we  are 
more  likely  to  be  wrong  than  right. 

If  conjectures  must  be  hazarded,  it  might  be  as  plausible  to  suppose  that 
it  was  the  new  force,  vitality  and  poignancy  of  Utamaro's  latest  work  which 
provoked  Sharaku  to  challenge  him;  as  if  he  had  said  to  himself:  “  What 
Utamaro  is  doing  in  the  world  of  women,  I  will  do  in  the  world  of  the 
theatre."  Or  again,  it  might  be  conjectured  that  after  the  death  of  Shunsho, 
the  great  master  of  the  actor-print,  there  was  an  opportunity  to  be  seized 
of  which  Sharaku  availed  himself.  What  we  know  as  actual  fact  is  that 
his  prints  began  to  appear  in  the  same  month,  the  first  of  1794,  as  the  series 
Yakusha  Butai  no  Sugata-ye ,  by  Toyokuni.  It  would  seem  that  there  was 
a  definite  rivalry  between  the  publishers,  Tsutaya  and  Izumiya,  if  not 
between  the  artists,  who  portrayed  the  same  actors  in  the  same  plays  during 
two  years.  Toyokuni  is  here  at  his  best,  but  pales  before  Sharaku. 

It  is  usual  to  contrast  Sharaku 's  **  realism  "  with  the  “  idealism  "  of  his 
predecessors.  Such  terms  as  these  mean  different  things  in  different 
contexts  ;  it  is  therefore  well  to  attempt  a  little  greater  precision. 

If  we  turn  back  to  the  first  actor-prints  of  Kiyonobu  and  Kiyomasu,  we 
find  that  the  faces  of  the  actors,  especially  of  those  who  played  in  the 
parts  of  women,  are  little  individualized.  The  design  is  the  main  thing  ; 


121 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


the  actual  hang  and  set  of  the  dresses  are  subdued  to  the  general  flow  of 
the  sweeping  outlines  ;  no  suggestion  whatever  of  texture  is  given  ;  and 
the  faces  also  fall  into  the  scheme,  which  aims  at  presenting  a  recognizable 
image  rather  portraying  an  individual  person.  When  we  come  to  Shunsho 
and  his  school,  the  prints  approximate  a  stage  nearer  to  actuality ;  hands 
and  feet  are  more  articulated,  features  are  more  expressive  of  character  and 
personality,  the  individual  is  more  differentiated.  With  Sharaku  it  is  as 
if  we  were  suddenly  given  a  sharpness  and  intensity  of  vision  quite  beyond 
the  faculty  of  everyday  sight ;  the  lineaments  of  his  portraits  leap  into 
strange  distinctness,  as  if  we  had  looked  through  a  lens.  Design  still  con¬ 
trols  the  draughtsmanship,  which  still  refrains  from  dwelling  on  accidents 
and  inessentials ;  but  in  this  heightened  vision  we  observe  how,  for 
instance,  the  hair  shows  a  little  through  the  transparency  of  a  comb,  and 
the  blue  on  a  shaven  crown  or  chin.  Various  writers  have  spoken  of 
Sharaku's  distortion  and  grotesqueness  of  feature,  of  the  extravagant 
grimaces  of  his  actors.  But  are  not  the  same  things  to  be  found  in  the 
later  prints  of  the  Katsukawa  artists  i  It  is  not  these  that  differentiate 
Sharaku,  but  his  searching  vision,  his  penetrative  insight  into  character 
and  his  power  of  expressing  it.  The  more  we  contemplate  his  prints  the 
more  we  feel  in  the  grip  of  a  powerful  mind  ;  for  it  is  not  a  mere  heightening 
of  our  senses  that  he  gives  us,  he  lends  us  his  piercing  imagination,  which 
goes  straight  to  the  interior  truth  of  what  he  contemplates.  Sharaku  was 
one  of  those  rare  artists  who  have  a  genius  for  veracity.  Velazquez  is 
another  example.  We  do  not  impute  to  Velazquez  a  desire  to  expose  the 
degradation  of  humanity  in  his  paintings  of  the  dwarfs  and  idiots  who  were 
pets  in  Philip's  ceremonious  court,  because  it  is  obvious  that  he  enjoyed 
painting  them  ;  he  saw  them  with  a  painter's  eye  and  portrayed  them  with¬ 
out  sentiment,  without  malice,  and  without  extenuation.  It  is  inconceivable 
that  Sharaku  did  not  enjoy  drawing  the  Yedo  actors.  His  was  a  mind,  we 
feel,  that  was  only  happy  in  contact  with  reality.  He  could  not  have  drawn 
them  otherwise  than  he  did. 

Look  at  his  portrait  of  Miya-uchi  Dennai,  director  of  the  Miyako-za 
(first  opened  Dec.  3,  1793),  announcing  a  new  set  of  portraits  of  actors 
(reproduced  by  von  Seidlitz,  English  edition,  p.  146).  And  then  turn  to  the 
old  Tosa  portrait  of  a  priest  in  the  Louvre,  reproduced  as  frontispiece  to 
the  second  volume  of  Fenollosa's  Epochs  of  Chinese  and  Japanese  Art ,  and 
compare  it  with  the  Sharaku.  Given  the  difference  in  the  type  of  person 
portrayed,  how  alike  they  are  in  their  way  of  seeing  and  setting  down  the 
wrinkled  old  face  !  The  manner  of  drawing  the  hands,  one  notes,  is 


122 


KWANSEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1789  TO  1801 

identical.  The  famous  portrait  of  Shoichi  Kokushi  by  Cho  Densu  is  a 
similarly  unflinching  and  veracious  portrait  of  old  age ;  and  instances 
might  be  multiplied  from  the  ancient  art  of  Japan.  There  was  nothing 
new  to  the  traditions  of  Japanese  portraiture  in  Sharaku's  intense  delinea¬ 
tion.  But,  in  this  degree,  it  was  new  to  Ukiyo-ye.  And  especially  in  the 
portrayal  of  women,  or  rather  of  actors  in  feminine  parts.  Before  Sharaku 
came,  these  actors  had  been  drawn  in  a  more  or  less  generalized  manner, 
approximating  to  the  female  type  in  fashion  among  the  artists  of  the  day. 
With  Sharaku  it  is  definite  portraiture. 

It  is  difficult  for  us  to  realize  the  attitude  of  the  Yedo  public  towards  art, 
so  utterly  different  was  it  from  that  of  a  Western  public.  What  would  our 
matter-of-fact  public  say  to  a  representation  of  familiar  handicrafts  and 
industries  in  which  women  were  substituted  for  men  i  They  would  say 
it  was  absurd.  Yet  this  is  the  constant  custom  of  the  Ukiyoye  artists. 
The  Yedo  public  were  used  to  night-scenes  in  which  everything  was 
visible ;  they  took  it  as  a  matter  of  course  that  artists  should  make  their 
women  all  alike,  and  yet  that  in  one  year  they  should  be  exquisitely  small 
and  inconceivably  fragile  and  in  another  massive  and  tall  beyond  the 
dreams  of  Japanese  womanhood.  Above  all,  they  wanted  something 
decorative.  One  sees  in  every  detail  of  their  household  furniture  how  the 
sense  of  beauty  sought  and  found  satisfaction  in  form  and  pattern.  The 
instinctive  cry  of  delight  which  the  average  Western  mind  lets  out  before 
a  favourite  picture,  “  How  like  it  is  !  ”  finds  little  echo  there.  Sharaku's 
new  vision  of  the  theatre  was  not  therefore  one  to  find  a  natural  response 
in  minds  prepared  to  move  in  that  direction  ;  it  gave  a  shock.  It  was  not 
the  squints  and  grimaces  that  offended  ;  these  they  were  used  to  on  the 
stage,  and  in  a  few  years  they  were  delighted  with  these,  even  more 
emphasized,  in  prints  by  Toyokuni  and  his  school.  But  searching,  strongly 
characterized  portraiture,  this  was  a  thing  to  which  they  were  not  used 
and  for  which  they  had  no  craving.  Least  of  all  in  the  actors  of  feminine 
parts,  to  whose  features  their  eyes  had  always  been  willing  to  lend  an 
appropriate  charm. 

The  violent  and  sensational  character  of  the  Japanese  popular  drama 
partly  accounts  for  the  wrung  features  and  desperate  attitudes  which  we 
find  in  some  of  these  prints — though  not  where  it  is  not  demanded  for  the 
character  portrayed.  But  for  Sharaku  it  was  an  opportunity  of  portraying 
the  whole  range  of  human  emotions  as  written  on  face  and  form,  and  these 
he  intensified  to  an  extreme  degree,  without  losing  their  essential  truth. 
But  we  must  not  dwell  on  these  prints  exclusively  as  portraiture.  We 

123 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


cannot  sufficiently  admire  the  unerring  seizure  of  the  one  significant  line 
that  gives  feature  or  expression  (and  note  that,  however  extravagant  the 
expression  or  posture,  the  delineation  is  reticent,  the  brush-line  sober 
though  intense)  as  if  the  whole  force  of  the  artist's  mind  were  in  the  hand 
that  traced  it ;  just  so  Sharaku  when  he  danced  in  the  No  plays  would 
have  concentrated  the  whole  energy  of  his  being  in  a  gesture.  But  with 
this  marvellous  seizure  of  essentials  which  makes  great  portraiture  is 
combined  masterly  design  and  magnificent  colour.  As  an  original  colourist 
Sharaku  is  unsurpassed  in  Ukiyo-ye. 

Since,  so  far  as  is  known  at  present,  no  print  of  Sharaku's  was  published 
except  in  the  two  years  1794  and  1795,  questions  of  date  or  development 
do  not  concern  us.  The  prints  are  either  in  the  form  of  hoso-ye ,  issued 
like  Shunsho's  in  triptychs,  or  of  upright  oban ,  whether  whole-length 
figures  or  large  heads,  single  or  two  together.  The  most  famous  series  is 
that  of  the  large  heads  on  a  ground  made  of  powdered  mica  mixed  with 
dull  purple  pigment ;  and  it  contains  Sharaku's  greatest  works.  But  all 
his  prints  are  on  a  wonderfully  high  level.  It  is  true  that  a  feeling  of 
monotony  and  occasional  repulsion  is  provoked  by  the  subjects  of  his 
brush,  and  we  cannot  help  regretting  that  Sharaku  did  not  give  us  more 
portraits  of  men  in  ordinary  life  and  not  acting  a  part  on  the  stage. 
The  portrait  of  the  theatre  manager  reading  the  advertisement,  already 
mentioned,  shows  what  masterpieces  of  the  kind  he  might  have  multiplied 
for  our  delight. 

The  print  reproduced  on  Plate  n  is,  so  far  as  is  known,  unique.  It 
repeats  on  a  larger  scale  and  with  different  colouring  the  upper  part  of 
a  whole-length  portrait  of  the  actor  Yonesaburo  as  a  tea-house  servant 
(reproduced  by  Kurth,  Sharaku,  Plate  34).  Perhaps  it  was  made  for  a 
private  patron ;  which  would  account  for  its  extreme  rarity. 

It  is  significant  that  we  now  know  that  Sharaku,  after  ceasing  to  design 
prints,  took  up  oil-painting.  It  betrays  the  Western  affinities  which  were 
just  what,  in  his  prints,  alienated  the  Yedo  public.  After  two  years  of 
superb  production  he  passes  from  our  view  for  ever. 

As  we  have  seen,  it  was  not  Sharaku  who  invented  or  first  produced  the 
prints  on  mica  ground,  the  kirara-ye .  It  is  possible,  however,  that  his 
famous  set  of  large  heads  of  actors  was  the  first  in  which  the  dark  mica 
ground  was  used. 

Yeishi  and  his  pupil  Yeiri  took  up  this  new  device,  and  some  whole- 
length  figures  of  Yoshiwara  beauties  standing  against  an  opaque,  reddish 
purple  background  are  perhaps  the  most  beautiful  of  all  Yeishi's  prints. 

124 


KWANSEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1789  TO  1801 

The  print  we  reproduce  in  colours  (PL  13)  is  sometimes  found  with 
this  background,  sometimes  without,  and  variations  in  some  of  the  blocks 
occur  in  different  impressions. 

Yeiri  produced  little,  but  his  prints  are  very  distinguished.  His  master¬ 
piece  must  have  been  a  series  of  portraits  of  Yedo  celebrities,  Yedo-no- 
hana ,  two  only  of  which  are  known.  One  is  the  portrait  of  a  singer,  repro¬ 
duced  in  the  Paris  V.I.  Catalogue ,  Plate  XIX.  The  other  is  the  portrait  of 
Kyoden,  once  famous  in  Ukiyo-ye  as  Kitao  Masanobu,  which  is  reproduced 
in  the  catalogue  of  the  Haviland  Collection  (Deuxieme  Partie,  1923),  No. 
341.  This  last,  though  no  doubt  it  owes  much  to  Sharaku,  is  on  a  very 
high  level  indeed. 

Yeishi,  unlike  Utamaro,  was  fortunate  in  his  pupils.  They  were  few, 
but  they  were  well  worthy  of  their  master.  Yeisho  was  as  gifted  as  Yeiri, 
though  of  less  fine  fibre,  and  produced  more  than  he. 

Sharaku's  influence  was  to  be  mainly  on  theatrical  prints,  but  he  came  as 
a  disturbing  force  to  the  whole  of  Ukiyo-ye.  Choki,  holding  his  own  as 
an  independent  master  of  real  originality,  seems  to  have  been  very  im¬ 
pressionable.  And  while  drawn  to  Utamaro,  he  was  evidently  overcome 
by  Sharaku's  fascination.  Not  that  he  was  fortunate  as  a  direct  imitator 
in  actor-portraiture,  as  in  his  Chushingura  series.  The  faces  recall 
Sharaku,  at  a  distance,  but  Choki's  gift  did  not  lie  in  that  direction.  As  a 
token  of  admiration  he  designed  a  pillar-print  with  a  girl  holding  a  fan 
on  which  is  Sharaku's  portrait  of  Matsumoto  Koshiro  IV  with  a  pipe  in  his 
hand  and  bandage  round  his  head.  Choki  at  this  time  issued  the  finest 
of  his  designs,  a  group  of  prints  of  half-length  figures  with  silvery  mica 
ground,  now  among  the  collector's  rarest  prizes.  One  is  the  charming 
design  of  two  girls  sitting  in  the  moonlight ;  another  is  the  famous  night- 
piece  the  **  Fire-Flies  "  ;  a  third  is  the  “  New  Year  Dawn,"  reproduced  on 
Plate  12,  in  which  the  figure  is  beautifully  related  to  the  landscape,  and 
which  has  an  emotional  quality  rare  in  Ukiyo-ye.  A  later  issue  of 
this  rare  print,  with  alterations,  is  reproduced,  Paris  V.I.  Catalogue, 
Plate  XXXVIII.  A  noticeable  mannerism  of  Choki's  is  the  placing  of  the 
upright  line  of  a  figure  close  to  the  margin  and  almost  parallel  to  it. 

About  1795,  the  year  of  Sharaku’s  disappearance  from  the  scene,  comes 
a  sudden  change  over  Ukiyo-ye.  Times  of  stir  and  movement  in  Ukiyoye 
art  had  generally  coincided  with  a  change  in  fashion,  expressed  in  a  sudden 
preference  for  a  certain  type  of  figure,  the  proportions  of  which  were 
heightened  or  reduced  with  a  quite  arbitrary  choice.  So  it  was  now ; 
women's  figures  became  once  more  immensely  tall.  Kiyonaga  had  set  a 

125 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


similar  fashion  at  the  beginning  of  Temmei ;  but  now  the  figures  were 
not  only  tall  but  extravagantly  slender. 

Utamaro's  set  of  the  Twelve  Hours  of  the  Day,  Seird  Juni  toki  tsuzuki, 
illustrates  the  change.  These  prints  are  on  a  yellow  ground,  but  this  time 
dusted  slightly  with  gold,  a  new  refinement  in  single  sheets.1  On  each 
is  a  bracket- clock,  with  a  flower  instead  of  dial,  and  below  the  clock  the 
title  of  the  series. 

The  daring  attenuation  of  the  girl-forms  may  disconcert  those  who  love 
the  normal.  But  which  of  the  creative  draughtsmen  of  Ukiyo-ye  had 
ever  treated  the  feminine  form  as  mere  matter  for  representation  i  Imagina¬ 
tion  had  allowed  itself  full  freedom  to  mould  the  type  presented  to  the 
eyes  into  something  adorable  and  strange.  Harunobu  had  attenuated 
necks  and  wrists  into  an  extravagant  delicate  slimness  as  of  flower-stalks, 
and  now  Utamaro  attenuated  with  a  like  extravagance  the  whole  girlish 
form.  Pontormo  in  Florence,  El  Greco  in  Spain,  Blake  in  England, 
lengthened  out  their  forms  in  similar  fashion,  obeying  an  impulse  from 
within.  The  impossibility  of  such  types  in  actual  life  is  nothing  against 
them  in  the  world  of  creative  art.  Only  if  they  have  not  a  life  of  their  own 
are  we  dissatisfied.  In  the  best  of  these  prints  of  the  Twelve  Hours 
Utamaro  has  created  figures  of  enchanting  allure .  And  the  spacing,  the 
colouring,  the  originality  of  the  designs  is  of  the  finest  order. 

The  same  extreme  slimness  and  tallness  is  in  another  set  on  yellow 
ground,  called  Enchu  Hassen  ;  a  set  of  eight,  in  which  beauties  of  the  day 
are  portrayed  as  Sennin ,  the  u  sages  "  of  Chinese  legend.  Here  the  new 
types  are  less  fortunately  used,  because  the  artist  adopts  something  of 
the  mannerism  of  the  classic  schools  of  brush-drawing,  with  its  love  for 
separate  forcible  strokes  rather  than  continuous  lines.  One  of  the  set, 
representing  a  girl  as  Sei-6-bo  the  “  fairy  queen,"  is  reproduced  in  colour 
by  Fenollosa  in  his  Outline  of  Ukiyo-ye  ;  and  Fenollosa  uses  it  to  point 
his  moral  that  Utamaro  was  leading  Ukiyo-ye  into  depths  of  degradation. 
He  dares  to  portray  a  beauty  of  the  Yoshiwara,  a  mere  courtesan,  as  that 
supernatural  creature,  the  theme  of  countless  classic  painters  both  in 
China  and  Japan.  But  what  was  there  new  in  this  i  Was  Sei-6-bo  as 
sacred  a  figure  as  Daruma,  the  great  patriarch  of  the  Buddhist  sect  of 
Zen  i  Yet  Harunobu  had  made  a  print  of  a  geisha  masquerading  as 
Daruma,  crossing  the  sea  from  China  to  Japan  on  a  reed — one  of  the 
classic  subjects  of  the  Sesshu  and  the  Kano  schools.  And  Harunobu 
designed  other  prints  in  which  he  poked  yet  more  irreverent  fun  at  this 
1  It  was  used  in  the  Shell  and  Bird  books. 

126 


KWANSEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1789  TO  1801 

great  and  formidable  saint.  But  besides  Harunobu,  which  of  the  popular 
masters  had  not  made  travesties  of  the  great  figures  of  sacred  legend  i  The 
Sennin  were  no  more  immune  than  the  Seven  Gods  of  Good  Luck,  who  are 
universal  themes  of  playful  art.  The  feeling  of  the  Japanese  was  much 
more  like  that  of  Christian  medieval  folk  in  this  respect  than  that  of  our 
day.  And,  after  all,  Utamaro's  “  Fairy  Queen  "  of  the  Green  Houses  is  a 
sweet  and  serious  girl,  with  no  hint  of  burlesque  intention  on  the  surface. 
But  Fenollosa  was  curiously  unjust  to  Utamaro  in  his  desire  to  exalt 
Kiyonaga,  and  reads  in  him  all  sorts  of  symptoms  of  “  decadence  "  for 
which  there  is  no  justification.  He  most  oddly  accuses  him  of  “  naturalism  " 
as  opposed  to  Kiyonaga's  “  idealism."  The  terms,  so  applied,  seem  to 
have  no  meaning  whatever. 

Let  us  admit,  however,  that  in  this  passing  phase  of  extravagant  elonga¬ 
tion — for  it  was  only  a  passing  phase,  and  does  not  come  towards  the 
close  of  Utamaro's  career  as  some  writers  have  imagined,  dating  it  after 
the  beginning  of  the  19th  century — let  us  admit  that  there  was  something 
perilous  and  extreme,  which  only  a  consummate  genius  could  handle  with 
felicity.  The  gulf  between  Utamaro  and  Yeishi  can  be  measured  in 
Yeishi's  strained  attempt  to  follow  Utamaro's  lead.  At  first  he  is  fairly 
successful,  imitating  the  swing  of  a  figure  across  the  design  to  foil  the 
pose  of  another  figure,  in  the  way  of  Utamaro  ;  but  a  looseness,  a  lack  of 
organic  structure  in  the  drawing,  is  very  perceptible.  In  the  large  print 
of  unusual  size,  reproduced  in  the  V .  and  /.  Paris  Catalogue ,  Plate  VII, 
Utamaro's  wonderful  arrangements  of  figures,  and  mastery  of  a  complex 
of  lines  diversely  directed,  are  caricatured  ;  the  drawing,  yet  looser,  com¬ 
municating  no  sense  of  form.  And  in  the  series  of  Patterns  of  the  Green 
Houses,  Seird  Moyo  Aivase ,  easily  recognizable  by  the  red  sake  cup  on 
which  the  title  is  written  and  the  half-yellow,  half-white  background,  the 
extreme  proportion  of  the  figures  is  allied  not  only  to  empty  draughtsman¬ 
ship,  but  to  a  peculiarly  vacuous  type  of  face.  Utamaro  was,  indeed,  far 
harder  to  follow  than  Kiyonaga.  Yeishi  was  safe  under  Kiyonaga's  stable 
influence,  but  as  soon  as  that  was  gone  he  was  never  quite  happy  with  his 
type  of  face,  and  it  gradually  tended  to  develop  a  rather  silly  smile.  A 
well-known  triptych  of  the  Treasure-boat,  seven  girls  masquerading  as 
the  Seven  Gods  of  Fortune,  in  a  rose-coloured  barge  with  a  peacock-prow, 
is  Yeishi's  most  successful  piece  of  this  time. 

His  pupil  Yeisho,  who  had  been  making  some  striking  prints  of  large 
heads  of  girls  with  mica  ground,  produced  one  charming  triptych  in  the 

127 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


“  tall  "  style  of  girls  dancing  under  pink  lanterns,  one  with  a  fan  tied  over 
her  forehead.  It  is  notable  for  its  very  pretty  colour-scheme  of  rose  and 
grey. 

Choki  also  published  a  triptych  of  girls  surprised  by  a  shower  while 
stretching  cloth  in  a  garden  ;  a  triptych  happier  in  composition  than  most 
of  this  artist's,  who  sometimes  became  helpless  and  confused  in  grouping 
more  than  a  couple  of  figures  together. 

Of  Utamaro's  triptychs  in  the  tall,  attenuated  phase  two  are  specially 
famous,  the  “  Night  Scene  by  the  Sumida  River,"  reproduced  in  the  Paris 
V.L  Catalogue ,  Plate  LVI — it  is  a  challenge  to  Kiyonaga's  early  triptych 
of  a  similar  subject — and  **  The  Fireflies,"  reproduced  on  Plate  L5QCXI 
of  the  same  catalogue.  Fascinating  compositions  these  are  ;  but  they  are 
not  Utamaro  at  his  greatest. 

In  his  unique  six-sheet  composition  of  **  The  Bridge  "  the  figures  are 
tall  and  slender,  but  with  no  wasp-like  contractions.  There  is  only  one 
other  instance  known  of  a  six-sheet  composition  formed  of  two  triptychs 
placed,  not  side  by  side,  but  one  above  the  other,  and  that  is  a  view  of  a 
theatre  interior,  and  the  audience,  by  Toyokuni. 

In  Utamaro's  design  we  see  groups  of  women  and  children  standing  on 
the  bridge  or  leaning  over  the  parapet ;  below  are  groups  in  boats  passing 
under  it.  In  its  complete  state  this  composition  is  excessively  rare.  An 
example,  very  much  faded,  was  shown  at  Yamanaka's  Red  Cross  Exhibi¬ 
tion  in  London  during  the  war.  But  each  triptych  is  a  complete  and 
delightful  design  in  itself.  Both  are  reproduced  in  colour  in  Vol.  V  of 
Masterpieces  of  Ukiyo-ye . 

Another  triptych  of  this  time  is  one  illustrating  the  “  Three  Lucky 
Things,"  Fuji,  the  hawk,  and  the  egg-plant,  remarkable  for  its  colour- 
scheme  of  blue,  purple,  and  green.  Better  known  is  the  beautiful  **  Mos¬ 
quito  Net,"  a  picture  of  ladies  going  to  bed  at  an  inn  behind  a  great  green 
net. 

At  the  same  time  Utamaro  was  publishing  great  numbers  of  **  Large 
Heads  "  of  women,  one  of  the  most  familiar  sides  of  his  work,  but  not 
really  the  finest.  In  these  prints  there  was  no  scope  for  his  marvellous 
composing  gift ;  yet  what  a  splendid  design  is  the  head  we  reproduce 
(PI.  36) ! 

Meanwhile,  what  was  Toyokuni  doing  i  For  in  the  eyes  of  the  public  he 
was  the  artist  who  stood  out  as  Utamaro's  closest  rival.  He  had  already 
won  a  great  popularity.  As  we  have  seen,  he  had,  like  Yeishi  and  Choki, 
competed  with  Utamaro  for  favour  with  some  beautiful  groups  of  prints 

128 


KWANSEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1789  TO  1801 

on  yellow  ground.  He  had  produced  also  some  close  imitations  of 
Utamaro's  half-length  figures.  But  it  was  the  theatre  which  more  and 
more  attracted  him.  We  have  seen  how  he  designed  a  fine  set  of 
(whole-length)  portraits  of  actors  simultaneously  with  Sharaku.  He 
pleased  the  public,  and  when  Sharaku  retired  was  undisputed  master 
of  the  field,  succeeding  to  Shunsho's  place.  But  at  the  same  time  he 
did  not  cease  his  rivalry  with  Utamaro.  Indeed,  his  fecundity  of  hand 
was  amazing.  During  his  career,  from  1786  onwards,  he  was  to  illustrate 
three  hundred  and  fifty  volumes.  This,  one  would  have  thought,  was 
enough  occupation.  But  apart  from  book-illustrations  he  published 
every  year  large  numbers  of  nishiki-ye . 

About  1795-97  Toyokuni  produced  some  of  his  finest  triptychs.  Among 
them  are  two  triptychs  of  girls  imitating  incidents  in  the  life  of  the  famous 
poet  of  the  9th  century,  Narihira  ;  the  passing  by  Fuji-san,  and  the 
crossing  of  the  Tamagawa.  These  are  schemed  in  a  colour-design  of 
purple,  green,  and  yellow ;  pink  and  red  are  absent.  The  same  colour- 
scheme  is  used  in  what  is,  apart  from  actor-prints,  Toyokuni's  master¬ 
piece,  the  **  Wind  among  the  Cherry  Blossom."  Girls  are  tying,  accord¬ 
ing  to  custom,  their  little  poems,  written  on  tanzaku ,  to  the  blossoming 
boughs  on  a  windy  April  day.  One  girl  is  lifted  by  a  youth  to  reach  the 
bough  above  her  ;  another  stands  on  a  sake  bucket  and  has  to  cling  to  the 
branch  to  steady  herself  in  the  gust ;  and  the  riotous  wind  blows  through 
the  design,  tossing  the  girls'  dresses  into  billowy  curves  and  making  a 
joyous  rhythm  flow  through  it  all.  Toyokuni  is  never  exquisite  :  even 
here  the  line  has  nothing  like  the  sensitiveness  of  Utamaro's :  but  in  this 
composition  the  broad  and  simple  rhythm  is  held  and  brought  out  with 
complete  felicity.  If  it  has  no  depths  or  subtleties,  it  has  nothing  of 
the  cheapness  which  too  facile  production  was  soon  to  bring  into 
Toyokuni's  work ;  his  powers  were  inspired  to  full  fruition  at  a  fortunate 
moment. 

In  another  triptych  of  about  the  same  time  pinks  are  introduced  with  the 
purples.  It  is  a  party  of  holiday-makers  on  the  seashore  ;  an  Awabi  diver 
is  seen  swimming  in  the  bay,  and  beyond  the  calm  water  are  the  clear 
outlines  of  the  hills  on  the  opposite  coast.  This,  too,  is  a  very  attractive 
composition,  though  not  so  distinguished  in  colour,  and  lacking  the 
inspiration  in  design  which  makes  the  Wind  in  the  Cherry  Blossom  so 
completely  charming.  Of  much  the  same  date  is  the  well-known  “  Bath  " 
triptych  in  which  cast  shadows  of  the  clothes  hanging  up  on  the  wall  are 
introduced. 


129 


K 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


Just  a  little  later  we  may  date  the  remarkable  triptych  of  Blind  Men 
Crossing  a  Wooden  Bridge  over  a  River,  which,  like  some  single  prints  of 
the  same  date,  is  a  passing  excursion  into  the  style  of  Hanabusa  Itcho 
(1652-1724). 

Itcho  was  a  Kano  painter  who  deserted  the  orthodox  subject-matter  of 
his  classic  school  and  delighted  in  spirited  sketches  of  everyday  life.  He 
was  a  constant  side-influence  on  Ukiyo-ye ;  Utamaro  also  occasionally 
adopted  his  manner.  Toyokuni’s  **  Blind  Men,"  curiously  parallel  to  the 
great  Peter  Brueghel's  picture  of  the  Blind  Leading  the  Blind  at  Naples, 
is  in  Itcho's  style  of  brush  and  humorous  vein ;  the  huddling  crowd  of 
sightless  beggars  crawl  over  the  rough  poles  by  which  they  make  their 
precarious  crossing,  jostling  and  falling  over  each  other.  The  beauty  of  a 
spring  evening,  with  the  young  moon  seen  among  the  leafing  willow- 
branches,  adds  by  contrast  a  touch  of  pathos  to  those  grotesquely  groping 
figures  who  see  nothing. 

After  all,  however,  it  is  not  these  triptychs  that  we  think  of  as  Toyokuni's 
most  characteristic  work ;  that  is  to  be  found  rather  in  his  actor-prints  of 
the  six  years  before  the  century  closed.  Few  of  these  equal  those  in  the 
series  Yakusha  Butai  no  Sugata-ye . 

In  this  set,  with  grey  or  mica  ground  foiling  already  mentioned.  Thirty- 
nine  are  known  of  the  series,  but  most  are  rare.  Admirably  chosen  colours 
in  the  dresses,  there  is  dignity  as  well  as  force.  We  do  not  feel  that  Toyo- 
kuni  is  straining  his  powers,  as  we  too  often  do  in  the  large  single  heads  of 
actors,  or  in  the  prints  with  two  heads  together,  groups  of  which  begin  to 
appear  almost  at  the  same  time.  These  heads  are  extremely  striking  at 
first  glance,  they  are  thrown  on  the  page  with  great  energy  and  boldness. 
It  is  only  when  we  place  them  actually  beside  the  Sharaku  heads  with  which 
Toyokuni  sought  to  compete  that  we  realise  their  great  inferiority.  We 
are  surprised  too  by  the  quietness  of  Sharaku's  inevitable  lines  ;  Toyo¬ 
kuni's  brush-strokes  are  violent  and  restless  by  comparison,  they  have  no 
reserve  of  power  behind  them.  It  is  the  contained,  interior  force  of 
Sharaku’s  conception,  so  unerringly  and  essentially  expressed  in  every 
line,  which  impresses  not  the  eye  only,  but  the  memory. 

Meanwhile,  another  chapter  was  being  added  to  the  achievements  of 
Kwansei  period.  This  was  the  expansion  of  surimono  designing,  chiefly 
by  Hokusai,  though  Shunman  also  had  taken  to  designing  in  this  form 
after  about  1790.  Exquisite  are  the  small  surimono  signed  44  Sdri,"  then 
“  Shinsai,"  then  44  Hokusai  formerly  Sori,"  then  simply  “  Hokusai," 
produced  in  the  years  from  1797  to  1800.  Delicate  colours  are  matched 

130 


KWANSEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1789  TO  1801 

by  delicate  design.  There  is  no  sign  of  “  decadence  "  here ;  rather  of  a 
new  beginning.  Scenes  on  the  beach  at  low  tide,  with  groups  of  figures 
among  the  weeds  and  shells  and  rusty  anchors  of  the  shore  ;  or  still  life  ; 
or  glimpses  of  distant  Fuji ;  or  doings  of  the  New  Year  ;  walks  in  the 
snow ;  marketing  at  a  fish  stall ;  visions  of  cherry  blossom  from  a 
verandah ;  all  kinds  of  outdoor  and  indoor  scenes  become  delightfully 
pictorial  motives  to  Hokusai's  all-observant  eye  and  restless  hand.  Of  the 
old  44  Shunro  "  phase  nothing  is  left ;  these  are  purely  original.  Some¬ 
times,  with  his  mania  for  changing  his  name,  Hokusai  signs  44  Kako." 
Bearing  this  signature  are  one  or  two  extremely  rare  full-size  prints,  in 
which  the  narrow  type  of  face  beginning  to  come  into  fashion  is  made 
interesting  and  individual.  “  Kako  "  also  signs  a  set  of  illustrations  to 
the  Chtishingura  play  (about  1798),  which  seem  to  be  the  earliest  of  several 
sets  designed  by  Hokusai.  These  prints  are  on  the  uki-ye  model,  with  red 
clouds,  and  with  rather  elaborate  linear  perspective  very  imperfectly 
grappled  with.  They  seem  curiously  experimental  for  an  artist  now  nearly 
forty,  though  there  is  great  power  in  the  night-scene  of  storm  where 
Sadakuro  kills  Yoichibei ;  and  some  of  the  landscape  backgrounds 
promise  freshness  and  beauty  of  treatment. 

To  return  to  Utamaro,  there  is  an  interesting  disclosure  of  his  position 
and  of  his  attitude  at  this  period  in  the  inscriptions  on  prints  of  an  exces¬ 
sively  rare  series  called  44  New  Pattern  of  Brocade  after  Utamaro's  style," 
Nishiki-ori  Utamaro  gata  shin  moyo .  The  prints  are  remarkable  technically. 
Except  for  the  face,  arms,  and  hands,  there  are  no  outlines,  and  the  face  is 
outlined  in  red.  They  are  on  a  yellow  ground.  Two  of  the  set  are  repro¬ 
duced  in  the  Paris  V.I.  Catalogue,  Plate  XLIV,  and  one  of  them  also  in 
Kurth,  Utamaro,  Plate  31.  This  one  has  an  inscription  pouring  contempt 
on  the  artists  who  try  to  make  up  for  want  of  brush-power  by  dressing  up 
their  models  in  gorgeous  costumes  with  painted  faces  ;  whereas  a  mere 
ink-sketch,  if  power  be  in  the  brush,  will  create  living  beauty.  44  My  fee," 
says  Utamaro,  44  is  as  high  as  my  nose.  Publishers  who  buy  cheap  must 
take  the  consequences ;  their  proud  noses  will  be  crushed." 

On  the  second  print  of  this  set  there  is  a  similarly  scornful  allusion 
to  the  bad  artists  44  swarming  like  ants  "  who  produce  wretched  prints  and 
discredit  the  art  of  the  nishiki-ye  at  home  and  abroad. 

Only  one  other  print  of  this  series  is  known  to  us,  and  that  in  a  single 
example,  in  the  British  Museum.  It  is  the  most  beautiful  of  the  three  ;  a 
woman  in  a  flowered  dress  of  pale  olive  tint  with  black  sash,  holding  a 
red  and  white  fan.  On  it  is  an  inscription  which  may  be  thus  translated  : 

131 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


“  There  are  only  two  ways  of  drawing  beautiful  women  (bijin)  :  one  is  to 
delineate  the  features,  the  other  to  express  the  physiognomy.  If,  there¬ 
fore,  one  draws  a  smiling  face  comprehensive  of  love,  the  person  looking 
at  the  picture  becomes  excited ;  and  if  to  this  is  added  a  delicate  and 
graceful  form,  he  becomes  infatuated.  I  want  all  ladies  and  gentlemen  to 
offer  their  criticisms  only  after  they  have  scrutinized  my  elegant  style 
and  compared  it  with  the  deformities  of  others/' 

These  inscriptions  remind  us  of  what  we  are  apt  to  forget,  the  masses  of 
poor  prints  there  must  have  been,  now  entirely  perished  out  of  memory 
and  record,  on  the  Yedo  market. 

We  reproduce  (PI.  41)  an  interesting  print  by  Shiko  II  of  the  year  1800. 
It  is  seal-dated  Monkey  Year,  1st  month.  It  shows  a  group  of  three 
women  sitting  round  the  hibachi  and  examining  their  New  Year  purchases. 
One  smells  a  packet  of  cosmetics,  another  opens  a  paper  case  of  scent, 
while  a  third  holds  in  her  fingers  a  bin-sashi,  the  flexible  little  rod  of  metal, 
tortoise-shell  or  bamboo,  which  ever  since  early  in  Anyei  had  been  used 
to  keep  the  “  wings  ”  of  the  coiffure  extended  and  in  place.  The  seal- 
date  is  one  of  the  earliest  known,  and  the  print  is  important  on  that  account. 
It  shows  the  type  of  face  now  in  fashion  among  the  print-designers, 
especially  the  followers  of  Utamaro,  for  Shiko  was  now  more  under  the 
influence  of  Utamaro  than  of  his  master,  Choki.  There  is  a  decided  change, 
in  the  direction  of  looser  and  less  expressive  drawing,  from  prints  made 
by  Shikd  a  few  years  earlier.  Much  the  same  types  of  face,  whose  thinness 
contrasts  with  the  rounded  cheeks  of  the  beginning  of  Kwansei  period, 
may  be  seen  in  Utamaro’s  five-sheet  print,  the  Susuhaki  or  “  House  Clean¬ 
ing  ”  at  the  end  of  the  year,  an  occasion  for  merriment  and  practical  jokes, 
and  in  the  twelve-sheet  composition  of  “  Silk-Worm  Culture.”  Both  of 
these  date  from  about  the  end  of  the  century,  the  former  being  a  little 
earlier  than  the  other  ;  and  both,  in  the  first  edition,  are  designed  in  a 
colour-scheme  of  violet,  blue,  green,  and  yellow.  Pink  or  red  was 
introduced  in  later  editions. 

With  the  closing  years  of  the  century  we  find  the  themes  of  motherhood 
coming  more  frequently  into  Utamaro’s  work.  Woman  as  existing  for 
beauty  and  for  passion  he  had  portrayed  in  every  phase  and  every  intimacy  ; 
but  as  if  he  felt  that,  to  complete  his  portraiture  of  essential  womanhood, 
the  relation  of  mother  to  child  must  be  pictured  and  explored,  he  goes  on 
to  design  some  of  his  most  wonderful  prints.  There  is  the  print  of  the 
mother  at  night  holding  in  her  arms  the  soft  body  of  the  baby,  which  rubs 
its  sleepy  eyes ;  the  print  of  the  mother  bending  over  with  her  child  on 

132 


KWANSEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1789  TO  1801 

her  shoulder,  her  back  towards  us,  to  look  at  the  image  of  the  two  faces 
close  against  each  other  reflected  in  the  wooden  cistern — one  of  those  lovely, 
unexpected  designs  with  which  only  Utamaro  was  inspired  ;  there  is  the 
print  of  the  mother  doing  her  hair  in  the  mirror  with  a  kind  of  fierce 
absorption,  while  the  resenting  child  at  her  breast  is  being  distracted 
by  a  toy  held  by  a  maid  behind,  who  stoops  her  head  down  to  smile  at 
him  ;  and  how  many  more,  full  of  the  tenderness  of  insight,  designed  by 
this  44  decadent  "  Utamaro  ! 

And  at  the  very  end  of  the  century,  as  if  dissatisfied  even  with  these 
intimate  pages  from  daily  life,  as  if  seeking  for  some  more  essential  and 
more  primitive  symbol  of  the  maternal  passion,  Utamaro  designs  that 
strange  group  of  prints,  the  Yama-uba  series.  He  struck  away  from  the 
world  of  Ukiyo-ye  into  the  world  of  legend  ;  and  he  chose  the  story  of  the 
savage  mountain-fairy  who  fostered  and  brought  up  in  the  wilds  with  a 
more  than  mother's  devotion  the  44  infant  Hercules  "  of  Japanese  story, 
the  Golden  Boy,  Kintoki. 

Here  was  the  maternal  passion  isolated  and  removed  from  all  the  dainty 
and  delicate  refinements  of  a  city-life  and  home  ;  just  the  primitive,  jealous, 
animal  intensity  of  that  love ;  this  alone  could  satisfy  Utamaro's  imagination. 
And  marvellously  is  this  passion  expressed  :  the  boy  full  of  restless  lusty 
life,  the  foster-mother  with  loose  black  hair  giving  him  her  breast  as  he 
turns  his  eyes,  even  in  the  act  of  suckling,  with  the  curiosity  and  alertness 
of  a  wild  creature,  to  something  that  calls  his  attention ;  or  they  fiercely 
kiss  ;  or  he  climbs  on  her  shoulder  ;  or  they  play  together  in  their  solitude. 
Besides  the  prints  of  ordinary  size,  of  which  there  are  many,  there  is  the 
tall  upright  print  in  which  the  Yama-uba  bends  down  and  the  boy  reaches 
up  to  get  the  cluster  of  chestnuts  which  she  holds  in  her  hand ;  a  print 
often  reproduced,  and  a  magnificent  design ;  one  of  Utamaro's  master¬ 
pieces. 

In  the  same  kind  of  vein,  with  a  feeling  of  the  elemental  in  its  forms,  is 
conceived  the  triptych  which  stands  supreme  among  all  the  triptychs  of 
Utamaro,  the  44  Awabi  Fishers,"  the  central  part  of  which  is  occupied  by 
the  half-naked  fisherwoman  suckling  her  child.  Not  so  perfect  perhaps 
as  Kiyonaga's  finest  prints,  this  is  something  greater  than  Kiyonaga  ever 
made ;  for  perfection  implies  a  limitation.  The  group  of  nearly  nude 
forms,  with  unbound  hair,  on  the  rocks,  with  infinite  sea  beyond  them, 
yield  a  sense  of  latent  and  mysterious  powers,  as  if  they  shared  in  the 
secrets  of  the  deep  waters  which  they  are  used  to  plunge  in ;  the  human 

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body  appears  strange  and  wonderful,  a  symbol  more  significant  than  ever 
it  had  been  hitherto  in  the  art  of  Ukiyo-ye.  The  theme  is  taken  from  daily 
life ;  there  is  a  woman  buying  shellfish  in  the  right-hand  sheet,  though 
she  seems  an  insignificant  intrusion  from  the  superficial  world ;  but  the 
theme  is  indefinitely  deepened  and  broadened  into  an  imaginative  “  beyond/' 
as,  in  the  print,  the  sea-waves  melt  away  into  the  unseen. 


134 


CHAPTER  VIII 

KYOWA  AND  BUNKWA  PERIODS 

FROM  FEBRUARY  13TH,  1801,  TO  FEBRUARY  4TH,  1818 


CHAPTER  VIII 


KYOWA  AND  BUNKWA  PERIODS 

FROM  FEBRUARY  i3th,  i8o:i,  TO  FEBRUARY  4TH,  1818 

In  the  spring  of  Kwansei  13,  which  began  on  February  13th,  1801, 
Yeijudo  Nishimuraya  Yohachi  published  a  volume  entitled  Nishiki-zuri 
onna  sanju  Rok’kasen ,  the  thirty-six  famous  poetesses,  illustrated  in  colours 
by  Hosoi  Chobunsai,  with  a  frontispiece  by  Gwakyojin  Hokusai.  In  this 
book  we  see  the  last  of  Yeishi's  work  as  a  print-designer.  During  the 
remainder  of  his  career,  he  devoted  himself  to  painting.  Two  of  his 
paintings  have  already  been  mentioned  on  pages  73  and  74.  That  in 
the  British  Museum  of  a  corpulent  man  prematurely  aged  with  flaccid 
cheeks,  baggy  eyes,  bent  back,  and  with  a  bloated  and  repellent  aspect  is 
inscribed:  “Portrait  of  Utamaro  painted  by  Chobunsai  Yeishi  in  the 
60th  year  of  his  age  ''  (Utamaro  no  zo  Chobunsai  Yeishi  gyonen  roku-ju 
sai  fude). 

At  one  time,  before  the  date  of  this  painting  had  been  established  as 
1815,  following  upon  the  discovery  of  Yeishi's  age  at  death  and  conse¬ 
quent  birth,  it  was  thought  to  be  a  portrait  of  Utamaro  I ;  and  this 
supposition  was  strengthened  by  the  belief  (now  no  longer  held  by  the  best 
native  critics)  that  he  had  been  turned  out  of  home  by  his  alleged  father 
Sekiyen  on  account  of  his  dissipated  habits.  It  was  looked  upon  as  a 
true  picture  of  the  artist  at  the  time  of  his  death,  after  the  term  of  confine¬ 
ment  following  a  supposed  dissipated  life  had  enfeebled  his  constitution  and 
brought  him  to  a  premature  grave.  Yeishi  we  assert  doubtless  intended 
this  to  be  a  portrait  of  Baigado  Utamaro  II ;  for  there  exists  another 
painting  similarly  signed,  but  without  the  age,  which  depicts  a  man  of 
middle  age,  of  serious  demeanour,  intelligent,  and  somewhat  ascetic¬ 
looking,  grasping  in  his  left  hand  a  rosary;  undoubtedly  a  memorial 
portrait  of  the  great  master  Utamaro  I,  painted  just  after  his  death  on 
October  31st,  1806. 

The  fact  that  Utamaro's  art  shows  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the 
life  of  women,  especially  those  of  the  pleasure  quarters,  has  led  some 
foreign  writers  to  believe  that  he  was  addicted  to  sensuality.  This, 
we  repeat,  is  surely  a  mistaken  opinion  ;  for  in  those  days  it  was  the 
common  practice  not  only  for  artists  but  also  for  writers  to  frequent  these 
places,  where  they  found  material  for  their  work  unobtainable  elsewhere. 
Jippensha  Ikku  (1765-1831),  who  came  to  Yedo  in  1790,  when  he  was 
lodged,  fed,  and  clothed  by  Tsutaya  Jusaburo  in  return  for  his  services 

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JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


as  writer  and  artist  (he  designed  some  book-illustrations  and  a  few  prints, 
one  of  the  latter  representing  Daidozan  Bungoro  at  the  age  of  seven  in 
1794),  tells  us  in  his  interesting  introduction  to  the  famous  **  Picture-book 
of  the  Green  Houses  and  their  ceremonial  throughout  the  year  "  ( Seird 
yehon  nenju  gydji ,  two  volumes,  published  in  colours  and  in  black  and 
white  in  1804,  and  illustrated  by  Utamaro,  assisted  by  his  pupils  Kikumaro, 
Hidemaro,  and  Takemaro),  that  **  This  book  is  the  outcome  of  what  I  have 
heard  and  seen  these  many  years  past/'  and  he  goes  on  to  say,  “  I  peeped 
through  every  hole  I  could  find  in  the  shoji  so  as  to  accurately  spy  out  the 
rules  and  customs  of  each  particular  house/'  The  same  care  to  obtain 
first-hand  knowledge  was  exercised  by  artists  and  writers  on  theatrical 
matters,  Shikitei  Samba,  the  author  of  two  volumes  entitled  44  Actors  in 
the  Third  Story"  ( Yakusha  Sangai  kyd),  illustrated  by  Toyokuni  I  and 
published  by  Nishimiya  Shinroku  in  February,  1801,  says  in  the  epilogue, 
“  From  early  morning,  when  the  first  strains  of  music  are  played  by  the 
orchestra,  I  sit  close  in  front  of  the  stage,  regardless  of  being  splashed  by 
water  and  mud  (from  the  stage),  and  content  to  bend  my  knees  in  a  narrow 
seat  and  wash  down  a  few  bean-jam  buns  with  tea  sipped  from  a  single 
cup.  My  friend,  Mr.  Toyokuni,  is  a  man  of  the  same  kidney ;  but  he 
sits  high  up  in  the  third  story  sketching  actor's  figures  while  I  sit  low  down 
in  the  pit  gazing  at  the  actors  and  doing  nothing.  We  are,  nevertheless, 
of  the  same  tastes ;  he  paints  while  I  write."  The  fact  that  Utamaro 
designed  a  number  of  erotic  pictures  has  no  significance  in  relation  to  his 
morals,  for  every  Ukiyoye  artist  from  Moronobu  onwards  produced  these, 
and  some  in  far  greater  numbers  than  did  Utamaro. 

After  Kwansei,  we  find  no  more  prints  from  Yeishi's  pupils  nor  from 
Rekisentei  Yeiri,  Tamagawa  Shucho,  Yeishosai  Choki,  and  some  others ; 
but  despite  these  losses,  there  remained  sufficient  talent  during  the  first 
stage  of  the  present  period,  i.e.  up  to  1806,  as  to  render  it  interesting. 
Utamaro  and  Gwakyojin  Hokusai  each  produced  some  fine  work  at  this 
time.  Of  special  interest  and  artistic  worth  is  a  rare  set  of  the  Tokaido 
by  the  latter  artist,  consisting  of  fifty-one  oblong  prints  on  surimono 
paper,  each  4!  x6^  in.  (5^x7!  with  margins),  and  eight  of  double  this 
width,  on  which  is  inscribed  in  a  yellow  label  the  name  of  the  post  station, 
its  distance  in  ri  and  cho  from  the  next,  and  the  signature  generally 
44  Gwakyojin  Hokusai  gwa,"  or  more  rarely  “  Hokusai  gwa,"  together 
with  one  or  more  poems  chiefly  referring  to  the  products  for  which  the 
particular  place  was  noted.  (For  two  of  the  set,  see  Plate  42.) 

These  delightful  little  prints  are  remarkable  for  delicate  drawing  and 

138 


KYOWA  AND  BUNKWA  PERIODS:  1801  TO  1818 


soft  harmonious  colouring,  and  were  issued  in  February,  1804,  by  Gyoku- 
yodo  enclosed  in  a  wrapper  on  which  is  the  following  inscription  :  u  The 
fifty- three  post- stations  of  the  Tokaido  with  a  record  in  ri  of  the  distances 
en  route,  humorously  drawn  by  Hokusai-o.”  It  is  doubtful  whether  a 
complete  set  of  this  original  issue  with  the  envelope  is  now  in  existence. 
A  later  edition,  with  inscriptions  removed  but  similarly  signed,  is  more 
generally  known  ;  it  is  greatly  inferior  in  every  respect.  Nishiki-ye  in  the 
true  meaning  of  the  word  practically  ceased  after  Utamaro's  death,  and 
it  is  rare  indeed  that  we  find  a  print  worthy  of  the  name  after  1806.  One 
of  these  rare  examples  is  to  be  seen  in  Kunisada's  **  Girl  trimming  an 
andon ,”  reproduced  on  Plate  43.  Hurried  work,  coupled  with  the  use 
of  cheap  pigments,  resulted  in  an  enormous  output  of  crude  and  inartistic 
prints.  Nor  had  the  artists  the  ability  to  carry  on  the  Utamaro  tradition. 
Even  the  latter,  after  his  release  from  confinement  in  the  middle  of  1805, 
dispirited  and  overwhelmed  with  commissions  that  he  had  neither  the 
time  nor  energy  to  execute,  was  content  to  delegate  the  task  in  the  main 
to  his  pupils  who  lacked  the  ability  to  carry  out  his  instructions.  Kiyonaga 
had  retired ;  Shunyei  did  but  little  ;  Hokusai  was  chiefly  employed  in 
book-illustration  and  surimono  designing ;  and  the  new  artists  were, 
generally  speaking,  wanting  in  talent  and  originality.  The  chief  of  these 
latter  are  enumerated  below  with  such  details  as  are  available  concerning 
their  life -histories. 

Shotei  Hokuju,  a  pupil  of  Hokusai  about  1800,  at  first  designed 
surimono ,  one  of  which  is  dated  the  beginning  of  1802.  He  worked  till 
about  1834.  Dates  of  birth  and  death  unrecorded. 

Sekijo,  Sekiho,  Sekizan,  and  Shinko  were  pupils  of  Sekiyen  as  far 
back  as  the  Temmei  period  ;  but  the  few  prints  from  their  hands  date 
from  the  latter  part  of  Kwansei  to  about  1807,  and  are  not  wanting  in 
distinction. 

Hotei  Hokuga  and  Aoigaoka  Hokkei  were  pupils  of  Hokusai  about 
1804.  The  latter  was  born  in  1780  and  died  in  1850.  He  had  as  a  pupil 
Yashima  Gakutei,  dates  of  birth  and  death  not  known,  who  used  the  go 
of  Harunobu,  Sadaoka,  and  Gogaku.  Each  of  these  were  chiefly  book- 
illustrators,  and  specially  noted  as  designers  of  surimono,  which  though  of 
considerable  merit  have  not  the  delicacy  and  refinement  of  the  Sori  and 
Gwakyojin  type.  Gakutei  also  took  lessons  from  Hokusai. 

Yeizan,  who  became  the  leading  designer  of  bijin-ye  after  Utamaro's 
death,  was  the  son  born  in  1787  of  Yeiji,  a  maker  of  artificial  flowers,  who 
had  also  studied  the  Kano  style  of  painting.  He  first  received  instruction 

139 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


from  his  father  and  later  from  Suzuki  Nanrei ;  and  finally  established 
himself  as  an  Ukiyoye  artist  under  the  name  of  Kikugawa  Yeizan,  and 
with  the  go  of  Jukyusai,  both  of  which  names  are  found  on  his  prints. 
These  date  from  about  1804  till  1829,  when  he  seems  to  have  retired. 
He  died  on  February  26th,  1867,  aged  eighty-one.  He  trained  several 
pupils,  amongst  whom  were  Yeisho,  Yeishin,  Yeiri,  and  Yeicho,  the  Yei 
of  whose  names  are  written  in  the  same  manner  as  that  of  their  master, 
and  are  to  be  thus  distinguished  from  Yeishi's  pupils. 

Torii  Kiyomine  was  a  pupil  of  Kiyonaga,  after  whose  death  (1815)  he 
succeeded  as  the  fifth  of  the  Torii  Line  and  took  the  name  of  Torii  Kiyo- 
mitsu  II.  He  was  born  in  1787,  being  the  grandson  of  the  first  Kiyomitsu. 
Common  name  Shdnosuke ;  later  Kameji.  Died  on  January  3rd,  1869. 

Shunkyosai  Ryukoku,  Banki  II,  and  Hyakusai  Hisanobu  worked 
during  Bunkwa.  Dates  of  birth  and  death  unknown. 

Hidemaro,  Shikimaro,  Minemaro,  and  Kanamaro  were  pupils  of 
Utamaro,  and  designed  prints  during  Bunkwa.  Dates  of  birth  and  death 
unknown. 

Baigado  Utamaro,  generally  called  Utamaro  II,  was  first  a  pupil  of 
Koikawa  Harumachi,  a  noted  book-illustrator  and  novelist  who  died  in 
1789,  and  from  whom  he  received  the  name  of  Koikawa  Yukimichi.  His 
work,  however,  belongs  to  Bunkwa.  On  the  death  of  Utamaro,  whose 
pupil  he  may  have  been  during  Kwansei,  he  is  said  to  have  married  his 
widow  and  assumed  his  name.  Bakin,  however,  tells  us  that  Utamaro 
had  neither  wife  nor  child.  Dates  of  birth  and  death  are  unrecorded. 

Yoshimaru  was  first  a  pupil  of  Kitagawa  Tsukimaro,  when  he  was 
called  Yoshimaro.  In  a  book  published  in  February,  1810,  there  is  a 
note  which  says  that  “  from  this  spring  the  artist  Yoshimaru  changed  his 
geisei  from  Kitagawa  to  Ogawa.”  The  book  is  signed  **  Ogawa  Yoshi¬ 
maru  gwa  at  the  age  of  eighteen/'  whence  we  learn  that  he  was  born  in 
1793.  Later  he  changed  his  geisei  to  Utagawa,  and  later  again  to  Kitao 
as  a  pupil  of  Masayoshi.  After  Shigemasa's  death  on  March  8th,  1820, 
he  assumed  the  name  of  Kitao  Shigemasa  II  and  the  go  of  Kwaransei,  the 
first  Shigemasa  having  been  called  Kwaran.  Date  of  death  is  not  known, 
but  work  extends  from  about  1807  till  1840. 

Shunsen  was  first  called  Shurin  as  a  pupil  of  Tsutsumi  Torin.  Later 
he  studied  under  Shunyei,  from  whom  he  received  the  brush-name  of 
Katsukawa  Shunsen  (no  connection  with  Shunsho's  pupil  Shunsen,  the 
last  character  sen  being  written  differently).  He  also  used  the  go  of 
Kashosai  and  Toryusai.  After  Shunko's  death  on  December  1st,  1812, 

140 


KYOWA  AND  BUNKWA  PERIODS:  1801  TO  1818 


he  became  Shunkd  II.  He  worked  during  Bunkwa,  and  on  retiring 
earned  a  living  by  porcelain  decoration.  Dates  of  birth  and  death  unknown. 

Of  Katsu  Shunkyo  nothing  is  known  save  that  he  designed  very  few 
prints  during  Bunkwa.  He  may  be  identical  with  Shunkyosai  Ryukoku 
above. 

Keisei  Yeisen,  whose  real  name  was  Isoda  Yoshinobu,  was  born  in  1790. 
As  a  youth  he  was  a  pupil  of  Kano  Hakkeisai,  and  later  of  Yeiji  and  his 
son  Kikugawa  Yeizan.  He  also  studied  the  Tosa  style  and  that  of  Hokusai ; 
and  then  travelled  in  the  country  around  Yedo  in  order  to  study  Nature. 
About  1809  a  publisher  named  Tomoyeya  Nihei  lodged  him.  Yeisen 
died  in  1848,  aged  fifty-nine.  His  work  extends  from  about  1810  till 
1847. 

Utagawa  Toyohisa,  a  pupil  of  Toyoharu,  made  a  few  actor-prints 
during  Bunkwa. 

Kunimitsu,  common  name  Kumazo,  brush-name  Ichiosai,  made  a  few 
prints  during  Kyowa  and  Bunkwa. 

Kunihisa  was  an  unrecorded  female  pupil  of  Toyokuni.  Only  two 
prints  after  her  designs  have  so  far  been  seen.  These  are  signed  “  Toyo¬ 
kuni's  pupil,  Kunihisa  gwa.”  They  both  represent  actors  in  character, 
and  may  be  dated  August  and  September,  1804,  and  are  of  considerable 
merit.  This  artist  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  another  female  artist  of 
the  same  name  who  was  later  a  pupil  of  Kosotei  Toyokuni  (Toyoshige). 

Kunisada,  whose  real  name  was  Sumida  Shozo,  was  born  at  Yedo  in  1786. 
He  left  Toyokuni's  studio  about  1806,  receiving  as  go  Ichiyusai  Kunisada. 
He  illustrated  a  book  in  1807.  About  1813  he  received  from  Shokusanjin 
the  go  of  Gototei,  meaning  the  fifth  ferry-house,  in  reference  to  his  having 
inherited  the  licence  of  the  fifth  ferry  ( Itsutsu-me )  at  Honjo  quarter,  Yedo. 

Before  1827  he  was  instructed  by  Ikkei  in  the  style  of  Hanabusa  Itcho, 
and  changed  his  go  accordingly  to  Kochoro.  On  February  24th,  1844, 
he  designed  a  triptych  published  by  Yamamoto  Heikichi  and  bearing  the 
seal  of  the  censor  ( nanushi )  Fukatsu  Ihei,  on  which  he  wrote  an  inscription 
stating  that  this  being  the  anniversary  day  of  his  master's  death  (Toyo¬ 
kuni  I  died  on  February  24th,  1825),  he,  with  the  permission  of  Toyokuni's 
relatives,  succeeded  to  the  title.  This  interesting  print  is  signed  “  Kuni¬ 
sada  changed  to  ( aratame )  the  second  (ni  sei)  Ichiyosai  Toyokuni,"  and  is 
sealed  with  the  Toshi-dama  red  seal  used  by  Toyokuni  I,  as  his  studio 
seal.  It  is  related  that  one  of  Toyokuni's  pupils,  Daimyo  Ishikawa  Hyuga- 
no-kami,  on  one  of  his  annual  visits  to  Yedo,  received  news  that  it  was 
a  fruitful  year  for  his  rice  crops  at  Kameyama,  Ise  province.  This  so 

141 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


delighted  him  that  he  styled  his  country  Toyo-toshi  kuni  or  “  the  country 
of  a  Fruitful  Year  ” ;  and  turning  to  Toyokuni,  he  said  :  “  I  bestow 
upon  you  the  word  *  Toshi  *  as  your  seal  ” ;  and  forthwith  drew  a 
Toshidama  (lit.  year-jewel),  which  the  artist  adopted  as  his  seal.  Kunisada, 
who  always  refused  to  accept  Toyoshige  as  the  legitimate  successor  of  his 
master,  was,  owing  to  the  latter's  adoption  of  the  name  of  Toyokuni  after 
the  death  of  the  first,  in  reality  the  third  to  bear  the  name.  His  death 
took  place  on  January  12th,  1865. 

f  Kuniyoshi,  whose  real  name  was  Igusa  MagasaburS,  was  born  at  Yedo 
on  January  1st,  1798,  the  son  of  a  dealer  in  Kyoto- dyed  goods,  noted  for 
their  beautiful  colouring,  from  which  he  is  said  to  have  acquired  an  early 
taste  for' painting.  As  a  youth  he  eagerly  examined  the  illustrations  of 
Kitao  Shigemasa,  especially  his  warrior  pictures,  and  the  rapid  brush 
sketches  of  Masayoshi ;  and  at  the  age  of  twelve  he  showed  such  promise 
in  drawing  and  painting  that  Toyokuni  took  him  into  his  studio,  after 
having  been  shown  a  picture  by  the  lad  of  the  demon- queller  Shoki.  He 
remained  with  Toyokuni  for  many  years,  and  finally  about  1815  received 
his  diploma  and  the  name  of  Utagawa  Kuniyoshi.  His  go  were  Ichiyusai 
and  Cho-6-r5.  His  earliest  prints,  about  1818,  were  two  triptychs,  one 
entitled  “  Taira  no  Tomomori  no  borei  **  (ghost),  published  by  Kinshudo 
(Azumaya  Daisuke),  and  the  other  entitled  **  Soshi  Oyama  Ryoben  ** — 
depicting  the  celebrated  waterfall,  which  was  published  by  Kagaya  Kichi- 
yemon,  both  of  which  were  much  admired.  He  died  on  April  14th,  1861. 

Kuninao,  commonly  called  Utaizo  and  later  Yoshikawa  Shirobei,  with 
the  go  of  Ichiyensai  and  Ichiyosai,  was  a  native  of  Shinano  province  and 
a  fellow-student  of  Kuniyoshi  in  Toyokuni's  studio.  He  was  born  in  1793. 
At  one  time  he  and  Kuniyoshi  lived  together,  the  latter  studying  his  style. 
He  worked  from  about  1805  to  1840,  and  died  on  July  22nd,  1854. 

Kuniyasu,  personal  name  Yasugoro,  brush-name  Ippdsai,  was  born  in 
1794,  and  was  a  fellow-student  of  Kuniyoshi  and  Kuninao.  He  worked 
from  about  1811,  and  for  a  short  time  called  himself  Nishikawa  Yasunobu, 
soon  resuming  his  former  name.  He  died  in  1834. 

Kunimaru,  personal  name  Bunji,  brush-name  Ichiyensai,  was  a  pupil  of 
Toyokuni  about  the  same  time  as  the  above.  He  worked  from  about  1809 
till  1830,  when  he  died  well  over  thirty  years  of  age. 

Kuninaga,  brush- name  Ichiunsai,  and  common  name  Hayanosuke,  was 
born  in  Yedo.  He  was  trained  by  Toyokuni  during  Kwansei.  His  work 
extends  from  1801  till  1829,  in  which  year  he  died  when  over  forty 
years  old. 


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KYOWA  AND  BUNKWA  PERIODS:  1801  TO  1818 


Utagawa  Hiroshige  was  born  in  1797.  He  belonged  to  a  family  of  fire 
brigade  police,  his  real  name  being  Ando  Tokitaro.  As  he  evinced  an 
aptitude  for  drawing  when  a  boy,  his  father  sent  him  to  be  taught  by  his 
friend  Okajima  Rinsai  of  the  Kano  school.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  wished 
to  place  the  boy  under  Toyokuni ;  but,  as  there  was  no  vacancy,  he  entered 
the  studio  of  Toyohiro,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  obtained  his  diploma  and 
the  brush-name  of  Utagawa  Hiroshige.  This  diploma  still  exists,  and  is 
dated  April  20th,  1812.  His  earliest  efforts  were  book-illustrations,  and 
bijin-ye .  Amongst  these  latter,  which  are  signed  **  Hiroshige  gwa/'  is  a 
fine  series  of  four  prints  entitled  “  Soto  no  uchi  sugata  hakkei/'  published 
by  Azuma-ya  Daisuke  about  1815.  One  of  these,  generally  called  “  The 
Girl  awakening  from  Sleep/'  is  described  by  Fenollosa  in  his  Masters  of 
Ukiyoye,  as  **  startling  in  power,  making  us  think  in  its  intense  feeling  of 
Sir  Joshua  Reynolds'  subject :  *  Mrs.  Siddons  as  the  Tragic  Muse.'  "  In 
this  series  there  is  an  indoor  and  an  outdoor  (in  a  circular  cartouche  at  top 
right-hand  corner)  view  on  each  print  with  separate  sub-titles,  which, 
in  the  print  referred  to  by  Fenollosa,  are  Kinuginu  no  Bansho  for  the 
former,  and  Tampo  no  Rakugan  for  the  latter;  meaning,  respectively, 
Parting  of  two  lovers  at  dawn  after  mutually  helping  one  another  to 
dress,  and  Evening  Bell,  and  Rice-fields  and  Homing  Geese.  The 
colouring  of  this  series  is  very  good.  Hiroshige  died  of  cholera  on 
October  12th,  1858. 

Yanagawa  Shigenobu,  whose  family  name  was  Suzuki,  was  born  at 
Yedo  in  1784.  He  was  a  pupil  of  Hokusai  about  Kyowa,  and  later  became 
his  son-in-law.  He  took  the  name  of  Yanagawa  from  the  place  in  Yedo 
where  he  first  resided.  He  worked  chiefly  at  Yedo  but  for  a  time  at 
Osaka,  during  Bunkwa  and  Bunsei,  and  died  in  1832.  He  is  said  to  have 
been  a  clever  puppet  maker. 

Utagawa  Toyokiyo  was  son  and  pupil  of  Toyohiro,  his  common  name 
being  Kinzo.  His  work  is  confined  to  book-illustration  and  surimono 
during  Kyowa  and  early  Bunkwa.  He  collaborated  with  his  father  and  an 
artist  named  Bunyen  in  a  long  horizontal  surimono  invitation  to  a  concert 
party  about  1802,  in  which  he  displays  considerable  skill.  He  is  said  to 
have  died  at  a  comparatively  early  age,  leaving  behind  a  son,  who  later 
became  Utagawa  Toyokuma. 

Harukawa  Goshichi  was  a  pupil  of  Harukawa  Yeizan.  He  was  first 
called  Kamiya  Hdshu,  Kamiya  being  his  real  name,  and  worked  at  Yedo 
under  this  name  and  that  of  Harukawa  Goshichi  during  Kyowa  and 
Bunkwa  at  designing  surimono  and  actor-prints,  one  of  the  former,  signed 

143 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


Kamiya  Hoshu,  being  dated  1802.  During  Bunsei  he  worked  in  Kyoto. 
Dates  of  birth  and  death  unrecorded.  His  surimono  are  of  much  merit. 

After  the  production  of  the  great  **  Awabi  Fishers  "  triptych  and  the 
Yama-uba  series,  Utamaro's  work  no  longer  contains  surprises,  though 
before  his  imprisonment  in  1805  he  made  many  wonderful  prints,  and 
his  extraordinary  powers  of  inventive  design  never  failed  him.  We  are 
conscious,  indeed,  of  a  change  in  the  type  delineated  ;  it  is  becoming  less 
attractive,  less  gracious  ;  but  this  change  is  not  marked  till  the  very  end 
of  Utamaro's  career.  It  is  much  more  noticeable  in  Toyokuni  and  in 
other  designers  of  bijin-ye . 

Utamaro  and  Toyokuni  were  now  the  supreme  rivals  in  the  public  eye ; 
but  though  rivals  they  were  on  friendly  terms.  Utamaro  had  supplied  two 
designs  to  Toyokuni's  book  of  half-length  portraits  of  actors,  Nigao  haiyu , 
in  1799 ;  and  a  little  later  the  publisher  Iwatoya  commissioned  the  two 
artists  to  contribute  each  a  number  of  designs  to  a  set  of  hashira-ye  of 
special  width. 

Toyokuni,  during  the  first  three  or  four  years  of  the  19th  century,  produced 
some  fine  triptychs,  such  as  the  **  Picnic  Party  at  Shichi-ri-ga-hama  " 
with  fishermen  dragging  great  nets  in  the  background,  in  which  purple, 
green,  and  yellow  predominate  ;  the  u  Actors  of  the  Day  sheltering  from 
a  Shower  "  under  a  great  tree ;  and  the  **  Six  Girls  washing  Clothes  in  the 
Tamagawa."  Actor-prints  he  was  also  pouring  out  in  great  profusion ; 
and  although  these  are  often  very  effective  in  colour  and  design,  an 
increasing  haste  or  carelessness  is  perceptible ;  what  was  a  formidable 
intensity  in  Sharaku  has  become  a  rhetorical  emphasis. 

In  essential  qualities  Toyokuni  is,  as  ever,  far  behind  Utamaro.  In  1801 
Utamaro  published  the  book  Yehon  shiki  no  hana,  which  serves  to  give  us 
the  fashions  of  the  day  and  contains  charming  designs.  In  the  women’s 
hair  we  note  that  the  side-wings  begin  to  have  a  slightly  convex  curve  at 
their  lower  edges.  By  1803  this  curve  is  more  pronounced,  though  the 
fashion  is  not  universal. 

Sets  which  contain  beautiful  prints  are  that  entitled  Fujin  so  gaku  jittei , 
“  Ten  Types  of  Feminine  Physiognomy,"  and  the  well-known  Kyokun 
oya  no  megane,  **  Instruction  through  Parents'  Spectacles,"  each  print  of 
which  has  the  title  inscribed  within  a  pair  of  red-rimmed  spectacles.  Now, 
as  ever,  Utamaro  is  deeply  interested  in  character  as  shown  in  the  features  ; 
and  in  the  inscriptions  on  these  two  sets  of  prints  he  appears  as  something 
of  a  moralist,  and  deplores  the  degenerating  manners  of  the  day.  One  of 

144 


KYOWA  AND  BUNKWA  PERIODS:  1801  TO  1818 


the  former  set,  a  half-length  figure  of  a  woman,  nearly  nude,  combing  her 
hair,  is  of  a  grand  simplicity. 

Prints  of  mothers  and  children  are  plentiful  in  these  years,  and  many  of 
them  are  of  great  charm.  We  have  less,  however,  of  that  elemental  feeling 
of  motherhood  which  the  Yama-uba  series  expresses,  and  more  of  playful 
incident,  as  in  that  favourite  print  of  the  “  darling  child  ”  who  has  upset 
the  bowl  of  goldfish  over  the  floor  while  his  mother  is  asleep. 

The  triptychs  of  this  period  show  no  flagging  of  invention.  One  of  these 
is  the  well-known  “  Night-scene  on  the  Sumida,”  with  a  great  fishing-net 
making  the  chief  feature  of  the  design.  A  fishing  skiff  has  come  alongside 
a  large  pleasure-boat,  just  as  the  fisherman  hoists  his  net,  slung  on  bamboo- 
poles,  out  of  the  water  with  one  little  fish  in  its  meshes.  Some  confusion 
has  arisen  over  a  pair  of  triptychs  representing  the  processes  of  the  colour- 
print,  since  it  is  very  rare  to  find  either  triptych  complete,  and  separate 
sheets  have  been  wrongly  assigned.  In  one  we  see  women,  substituted  for 
men,  as  so  often  in  Ukiyo-ye,  cutting  blocks,  sharpening  knives,  sizing  the 
paper,  and  hanging  it  up  to  dry.  One  woman  represents  the  artist  sitting 
by  a  table,  on  which  lie  pressing  commissions  from  publishers,  and  about 
to  make  his  design.  In  the  second  triptych  girls  are  taking  impressions 
from  the  blocks,  and  others  are  selling  prints  to  customers.  A  set  of 
Utamaro's  Kintoki  prints  is  being  shown.  On  the  walls  are  prints  in 
frames  or  mounted  as  kakemono .  It  is  a  scene  to  make  water  the  mouths 
of  collectors  of  to-day.  Utamaros  by  the  score,  fresh  from  the  block,  in 
perfect  condition,  and  how  cheap  ! 

To  the  year  1803  belongs  a  print  by  Utamaro  which,  though  not  in  itself 
remarkable,  claims  our  attention.  Since  the  days  of  his  youth  Utamaro, 
like  Harunobu,  had  disdained  the  stage.  The  print  in  question  is  a  print 
of  two  actors  in  the  parts  of  O  Han  and  Choyemon.  Why  did  Utamaro, 
at  the  close  of  his  career,  break  his  rule  and  take  a  subject  from  the  theatre  i 
The  print  is  reproduced  by  Kurth,  Utamaro ,  Plate  22,  where  it  is  assigned 
to  “  bald  nach  1790,"  a  patently  impossible  date.  It  was  designed  as  a 
protest  against  the  ugly  realism  that  had  become  the  fashion  in  actor- 
prints.  One  might  at  first  blush  have  conjectured  that  it  was  directed 
against  Sharaku.  But  one  has  only  to  look  at  the  woodcut  to  see  by  the 
style  and  the  types  that  it  belongs  to  Utamaro's  last  years,  nearly  a  decade 
after  Sharaku's  brief  apparition  on  the  scene.  And,  in  fact,  it  celebrates  a 
performance  of  the  play  entitled  Katsura-gawa  imose  no  tsuki-mi,  produced 
at  the  Ichimura  theatre  from  the  7th  day  of  the  8th  month  of  1803.  The 
actors  were  Ichikawa  Yaozo  the  Third,  who  played  Choyemon,  and  Iwai 

145 


L 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 

Kumesaburd,  who  played  O  Han.  It  was  Yaozo’s  greatest  success  in  his 
career. 

On  the  print  is  an  inscription  which  may  be  translated  thus :  “  My 
picture  of  O  Han  and  Choyemon  is  not  a  mere  unskilful  imitation.  The 
Chusha  (i.e.  the  Yaozo)  belong  to  a  family  of  handsome  men,  and  Kume¬ 
saburd  is  a  present  actor  of  young  women's  parts.  Both  have  an  elegant 
stage  appearance,  and  I  sincerely  desire  by  means  of  my  insignificant  brush 
to  spread  the  beauty  of  our  Yedo  actors  through  all  the  coasts  of  our  land." 

What  Utamaro  thought  of  Sharaku  we  do  not  know.  But  we  may  con¬ 
jecture  that  if,  like  Choki,  he  could  not  help  admiring  that  master’s  grand 
style  and  unmatched  intensity  of  presentment,  he  regarded  with  disgust 
the  now  general  fashion  of  theatrical  prints  designed  by  men  who  lacked 
Sharaku’s  style,  but  aped  his  realism  and  produced  grimacing  and  squinting 
figures  in  increasing  profusion. 

Much  has  been  made  of  Utamaro’s  evil  influence  during  his  leadership 
of  Ukiyo-ye,  and  of  his  own  decline  of  power  in  his  latter  years.  Un¬ 
deniably  the  general  taste  was  changing  for  the  worse  ;  but  when  we  regard 
the  actual  prints,  what  do  we  find  i  Utamaro  alone  stands  out  from  the 
rest,  composing  with  no  loss  of  mastery  to  the  end,  even  though  as  a 
draughtsman  he  was  no  longer  what  he  was.  The  feminine  types,  with 
their  narrow  faces,  have  deteriorated  from  the  sweet  dignity  of  the  Kiyo- 
naga  type ;  but  which  of  Kiyonaga’s  followers  in  the  years  about  1790, 
when  so  many  charming  prints  were  being  published,  was  capable  of  so 
masterly  and  original  a  composition  as  the  triptych  of  the  “  Persimmon 
Gatherers,’’  which  is  one  of  Utamaro's  latest  productions,  or  the  **  Princess 
alighting  from  her  carriage,’’  or  the  many  delightful  compositions  in  the 
Nenju  Gyoji  of  1804  i 

The  famous  Taiko  triptych,  hitherto  assumed  to  be  the  cause  of  Utamaro’s 
punishment,  is  of  no  great  interest,  except  for  historical  reasons,  but  it 
betrays  no  enfeeblement ;  nor  do  the  offending  prints  reproduced  here 
(Pis.  37,  38)  for  the  first  time.  Only  in  the  prints  produced  between  the 
master’s  imprisonment  in  1805  and  death  in  1806,  of  which  the  well-known 
triptych  of  “  Girls  on  the  Seashore  at  Ise  ’’  and  the  six-sheet  print  of 
“  Marriage  Ceremonies  ’’  may  be  taken  as  examples,  do  we  find  a  real 
weakening  ;  and  here  it  is  not  so  much  in  the  composition  as  in  the  detail 
of  the  drawing,  which  was  entrusted  to  pupils. 

Unfortunately  for  Utamaro’s  reputation,  prints  by  the  extremely  feeble 
Utamaro  II  have  been  fathered  on  him ;  his  signature  was  forged  in  his 
lifetime  by  inferior  artists ;  and  in  his  last  years  prints  came  from  his 

146 


KYOWA  AND  BUNKWA  PERIODS:  1801  TO  1818 


workshop  for  which  he  had  merely  given  the  idea.  Even  Mr.  Ficke  in  his 
book  has  given  as  one  of  his  four  illustrations  of  Utamaro's  work  a  print 
(PI.  41)  which  bears  no  trace  of  Utamaro's  mastery,  and  is  from  the  very 
end  of  his  life  and  no  doubt  carried  out  by  a  pupil. 

Alas  for  Ukiyo-ye  !  In  every  period  hitherto  the  triumphs  of  each  group 
of  masters  were  coincident  with  the  rise  of  a  fresh  generation,  equally 
gifted,  and  capable  in  time  of  taking  their  places  and  injecting  new  vigour 
into  the  traditions  of  the  colour-print.  But  now  the  age  was  sterile. 
Utamaro's  own  pupils  were  singularly  ill-fitted  to  succeed  him.  Nor,  in 
the  other  groups,  was  there  any  fertile  or  distinguished  talent.  Kiyomine 
produced  a  few  good  and  carefully- printed  designs  of  bijin  ;  and  the  same 
may  be  said  of  Ryukoku  and  the  second  Banki,  but  their  production  was 
very  small,  and  Ryukoku's  prints,  after  Utamaro's  death,  are  very  bad. 
Yeizan,  who  succeeded  Utamaro  as  the  popular  designer  of  bijin-ye, 
was  an  artist  of  no  account. 

Utamaro,  of  course,  was  a  difficult  master  to  follow.  It  was  not  a  ques¬ 
tion  of  repeating  in  one  group  after  another  a  felicitous  type  of  woman¬ 
hood,  but  of  relating  figures,  lines,  colours,  empty  spaces,  and  masses  of 
black  to  each  other  with  original  invention  ;  and  this  was  a  thing  not 
imitable.  What  the  men  of  1790,  the  followers  of  Kiyonaga,  would  have 
been  able  to  achieve,  had  they  chanced  to  arrive  on  the  scene  twelve  or 
fifteen  years  later,  we  cannot  tell ;  their  work  would  doubtless  be  far  less 
attractive  than  it  is  ;  but  we  cannot  believe  that  they,  or  any  former  group 
of  the  minor  masters,  would  have  collapsed  so  completely  as  the  men  of 
1806.  For  when  Utamaro  died  it  was  a  veritable  collapse.  Kikumaro's 
prints  of  1808  are  quite  hideous,  as  well  as  deplorably  feeble.  Shuntei, 
who  had  been  best  known  for  legendary  and  heroic  subjects,  in  the 
tradition  of  Shunsho  and  Shigemasa,  published  in  1807  a  well-known 
triptych,  the  “  Eel  Restaurant,"  which  has  some  merit  and  vigour ;  but 
the  general  output  takes  on  all  at  once  an  aspect  of  impotence  and  vulgarity 
combined  which  seems  almost  incredible  by  contrast  with  a  few  years 
before. 

Seal-dates  for  these  years  of  Bunkwa  are  found  on  many  prints,  and 
enable  us  to  divide  the  prints  preceding  Utamaro's  death  from  those  which 
come  after.  The  sudden  change  is  astonishing. 

Toyokuni  surrendered  with  the  rest.  In  fact,  it  would  seem  that  he, 
more  than  any  other,  was  responsible  for  the  general  depravation  of  taste. 
Even  by  1800  his  types  of  face,  in  bijin-ye  and  in  idyllic  scenes,  were 
beginning  to  be  little  more  than  an  insipid  formula  ;  his  actors  were 


147 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


drawn  with  an  increasing  violence  of  emphasis  which  marked  the  lack  of 
structure  and  significance.  Contrast  his  work  in  the  book  called  Nigao 
haiyu  with  the  beautiful  design  by  Utamaro  which  prefaced  it.  Even 
before  Utamaro's  death  we  find  Toyokuni's  faces  tending  toward  that 
haggard,  narrow,  angular  type  with  eyes  exaggeratedly  oblique  and  hard 
meaningless  stare  which  after  1806  was  to  prevail  throughout  Ukiyoye 
design. 

About  1810  Toyokuni  published  the  well-known  five-sheet  composition 
44  View  of  the  Cherry  Trees  in  the  New  Yoshiwara.” 

Fenollosa  reproduced  a  sheet  of  this  in  his  Outline  of  Ukiyo-ye,  and  very 
justly  points  out  the  tragic  change  that  twenty  years  have  brought.  It 
seems  scarcely  credible  that  this  is  by  the  same  artist  as  the  five-sheet 
print  of  the  same  subject  designed  by  Toyokuni  towards  1790.  But 
Fenollosa  by  making  Utamaro,  in  defiance  of  the  facts,  live  on  to  1811,  has 
involved  him  in  a  degradation  in  which  he  had  no  share. 

From  1806  to  1825,  when  he  died,  Toyokuni's  work  is  deplorable,  whether 
in  prints  of  actors  or  of  women.  It  is  callous  and  vapid,  and  has  no  real 
vigour  even  in  its  coarseness. 

In  the  whole  field  of  Ukiyo-ye  there  is  only  one  sign  of  hope.  That  is 
Hokusai. 

All  through  these  early  years  of  the  new  century  Hokusai  continued  to 
produce  surimono,  side  by  side  with  books  and  paintings.  There  is  a 
slight,  gradual  tendency  to  enlarge  the  scale  of  the  figures,  and  surimono 
of  long,  oblong  form  became  more  common.  But  these  prints  still  main¬ 
tain  something  of  the  miniature  in  their  design.  Some  of  them  are  of 
“  still-life  ”  subjects,  and  the  refinements  of  printing,  the  enhancements 
of  silver  and  bronze  dust,  which  were  always  a  mark  of  these  small  prints, 
seem  specially  suited  to  such  motives.  The  figure  compositions  rarely 
lack  an  outdoor  setting,  and  the  landscape  element  tends  to  become  more 
important.  The  figures  are  sometimes  not  so  much  relieved  against  their 
surroundings  as  (so  to  speak)  embedded  in  them.  But  in  some  of  the 
most  beautiful  of  the  long  surimono  Hokusai  places  his  figures  prominently 
on  a  river-bank  or  cliff's  edge,  with  a  great  depth  of  air  behind  them, 
through  which  the  more  distant  scene  appears,  not  in  broad  masses,  but 
rather  in  delicately  coloured  hints  and  small,  selected  forms.  None  of 
these  surpasses  that  one  in  which  a  little  group  of  girls,  with  two  servants, 
have  come  out  on  the  cliffs  to  gaze  at  Fuji,  white  and  far  across  the  sea. 
The  outline  of  the  mountain  and  the  wrinkled  waves  of  the  sea  are  indicated 
merely  by  blind-printed  indentations  of  the  paper  ;  there  is  a  faint  flush 

148 


KYOWA  AND  BUNKWA  PERIODS:  1801  TO  1818 


of  colour  in  the  foreground  with  its  blossom,  but  the  bathing  sense  of 
atmosphere  is  what  is  mainly  communicated. 

The  same  kind  of  early  spring  colouring  is  in  a  set  of  surimono  illustrating 
in  analogues  the  Twenty-four  Paragons  of  Filial  Virtue.  These  are 
inimitable  in  their  delicacy  of  design  and  tint.  They  are  of  about  the 
same  date  as  the  small  Tokaido  set,  of  which  we  give  two  illustrations. 

None  of  Hokusai's  followers  quite  reached  the  quality  of  the  master's 
surimono  of  this  period,  though  Hokkei  designed  some  very  fine  surimono 
indeed,  and  at  his  best  did  not  fall  far  short  of  his  exemplar.  Hokkei's 
landscape  surimono ,  designed  in  light,  clear  colours,  show  also  a  certain 
originality.  Gakutei  in  this  period  designed  some  admirable  surimono, 
especially  of  still-life.  His  best-known  work  of  this  kind  is  the  print, 
rich  in  its  fine  detail,  of  the  ill-fated  Chinese  emperor  Ming  Huang,  seated 
by  his  adored  mistress  Yang  Kuei-fei,  and  teaching  her  to  play  the  flute. 

But  these  artists  and  others  of  the  same  group  tended  to  fall  off  sadly 
the  more  independent  they  became.  With  time  their  style  coarsens. 
Hokusai's  own  style,  too,  becames  more  mannered,  and  the  peculiar  type 
of  face  which  he  affected  becomes  more  pronounced.  But  his  powers  of 
design  continue  to  expand.  About  1815  he  produced  a  wonderful  series 
of  surimono  called  Genroku  Kasen  Kai  awase,  **  Choice  Collection  of  Verse 
on  Shells,"  for  a  poets'  club.  This  set  is  easily  recognized  by  the  title, 
which  is  in  red,  with  underneath  it  a  little  design  of  shells  on  a  fan.  It 
contains  many  delightful  compositions,  and  the  colour,  less  reserved  than 
in  the  earlier  surimono,  is  delicately  harmonized. 

Apart  from  surimono  and  books  Hokusai  produced  few  colour-prints 
during  this  period.  One  very  rare  diptych  bears  the  seal-date  for  1807. 
Its  subject,  taken  from  the  legendary  history  of  China,  is  “  The  Cruelties 
of  T'a  Chi,  the  Concubine."  Here  we  find  the  curious  types  which 
Hokusai  gives  to  the  Chinese  figures  in  the  Mangwa  and  other  books. 

About  1810  he  published  a  set  of  Six  Poets,  in  which,  after  a  fashion  some¬ 
times  affected  by  Chinese  and  Japanese  painters,  the  outlines  of  the  figures 
are  formed  by  the  characters  denoting  the  poet's  names.  Here  Hokusai's 
mature  style  is  seen  for  the  first  time  in  prints  with  large  figures.  This 
set  is  also  rare.  But  before  this  he  had  published  a  set  of  prints  which 
claim  more  detailed  notice. 

In  1806  the  house  of  Tsuruya  published  a  second  Chushingura  set  by 
Hokusai,  which  it  is  interesting  to  compare  with  the  set,  signed  Kako,  of 
1798.  Hokusai's  powers  of  design  have  greatly  developed  in  the  eight 

149 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


years'  interval.  The  earlier  set,  as  we  have  already  noted  (p.  131),  is 
curiously  tentative,  considering  that  Hokusai  was  far  from  being  a  novice 
at  the  date  of  its  production.  When  we  turn  to  the  present  set  we  see  at 
once  that  he  is  no  longer  distracted  by  problems  of  half-learnt  perspective, 
and  feels  free  to  grapple  with  the  core  of  his  themes.  There  is  a  vivid 
sense  of  drama  in  all  these  scenes,  and  the  persons  “  fill  the  stage  "  as 
they  failed  to  do  in  the  earlier  prints.  The  colouring,  too,  is  much  more 
coherent.  The  best  known  of  the  set  is  the  last  scene  of  all,  where  the 
ronin  are  scaling  the  snow-covered  roofs  of  Moronawo's  palace,  and  one 
of  them  heaves  a  huge  mallet  to  break  down  the  door.  But  others  of  the 
set  are  more  interesting  in  respect  of  Hokusai's  art  and  its  development. 

In  the  scene  from  Act  I  we  see  a  terrace  at  Kamakura  and  look  out  over 
a  wide  prospect  of  sea  and  coast  to  Fuji  in  the  far  distance.  In  Act  VIII 
Tonase  and  Konami  are  travelling  the  great  Tokaido  highway  where  it 
skirts  the  sea.  The  plan  of  this  design  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  corre¬ 
sponding  print  in  the  earlier  series,  but  what  a  difference  in  the  carrying 
out !  In  the  finding  of  a  convention  to  represent  rock- masses  and  tree- 
shapes,  in  the  relation  of  the  human  figures  to  the  landscape,  in  the  grasp 
of  the  scene  as  a  whole,  what  an  advance  in  confidence  and  mastery  ! 

It  needs  but  a  slight  alteration  in  the  balance  of  interest  to  convert  these 
prints  from  “  figures  in  a  landscape  "  to  **  landscapes  with  figures." 
Already  we  see  the  elements  which,  recomposed,  will  form  the  structure 
of  the  great  designs  of  the  **  Thirty-six  Views  of  Fuji." 

This  year,  1806,  is,  then,  a  date  of  great  significance  in  the  history  of 
Ukiyo-ye.  Utamaro  dies,  and  with  him  dies  that  lovely  world  which  we 
have  seen  in  the  mirror  of  so  many  an  artist's  mind  ;  the  world  of  youth 
and  charm,  peopled  by  one  generation  after  another  of  gracious  forms  in 
all  the  varied  movements  of  life.  For  in  the  multitude  of  prints  that  are 
to  follow  there  are  but  rare  exceptions  that  can  for  a  moment  compare  with 
what  for  so  long  had  been  a  continuous  stream  of  changing  beauty.  And 
in  this  same  year  we  find,  in  this  Chushingura  set  of  Hokusai's,  the  budding 
growth  of  that  landscape  art  which  was  to  be  the  glory  of  Ukiyo-ye  in  the 
19th  century. 


150 


CHAPTER  IX 
BUNSEI  PERIOD 

FEBRUARY  5 T H ,  1818,  TO  JANUARY  24TH,  1830 


CHAPTER  IX 


BUNSEI  PERIOD 

FEBRUARY  5TH,  1818,  TO  JANUARY  24TH,  1830 

In  the  autumn  of  1812  Hokusai,  en  route  westwards,  stopped  at  Nagoya, 
where  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Gekkwotei  (also  called  Hokutei) 
Bokusen  and  Tonansei  Hoku-un  of  that  city,  both  of  whom  became  his 
pupils  and  forthwith  assisted  him  in  drawing  the  designs  for  the  first 
volume  of  his  masterpiece,  the  Hokusai  Mangwa ,  which  was  published 
in  the  spring  of  1814.  This  book,  fifteen  volumes  in  all,  has  justly  earned 
a  wide  reputation  both  in  his  native  land  and  abroad,  and  has  been 
eulogized  by  several  writers.  Yet  in  no  single  case  within  the  writer's 
knowledge  has  an  entirely  accurate  account  been  given  of  the  dates  when 
the  first  editions  of  each  volume  were  published,  nor  has  any  attempt  been 
made  to  grapple  with  the  question  of  the  dates  of  subsequent  editions. 
Even  Katano  Toshiro  of  Nagoya,  who  inherited  the  copyright  from  his 
father  Yeirakuya  Toshiro  on  January  10th,  1875,  an<^  who  on  September 
26th,  1878,  published  the  first  edition  of  Volume  15,  together  with  re¬ 
issues  of  Volumes  1  to  14,  each  with  frontispieces  setting  forth  the  dates 
of  the  original  editions  of  each  volume,  gives  those  of  Volumes  8  and  9 
as  1818  and  1819  respectively,  whereas  the  correct  date  is  1817  for  each. 
It  is  therefore  desirable,  in  a  work  of  this  importance,  that  this  matter  should 
be  adjusted ;  and  with  this  object  the  following  list  has  been  prepared 
from  first  and  other  editions  in  the  writer's  collection.  The  dates  of 
publication  refer  to  the  dates  given  at  the  end  of  each  volume,  where  also 
appear  the  names  of  the  artists  and  their  pupils  and  of  the  publishers  and 
booksellers.  Dates  of  prefaces  are  apt  to  be  misleading,  as,  for  instance. 
Volume  1  has  preface  dated  the  10th  month  of  Bunkwa  Mizunoe  Saru, 
corresponding  to  November  4th  to  December  3rd,  1812,  but  close  on 
fifteen  months  elapsed  before  the  volume  was  published.  Again,  the 
preface  of  Volume  10  bears  the  date  Bunsei  2,  10th  month,  i.e.  November 
1 8th  to  December  16th,  1819,  but  the  volume  was  published  in  the  spring 
of  that  year  ;  the  preface  writer  had  made  a  mistake. 

LIST  OF  FIRST  AND  SUBSEQUENT  EDITIONS  OF 
VOLUMES  ONE  TO  TEN 

Volume  1.  Bunkwa  n,  which  began  on  February  20th  and  terminated 
on  May  19th,  1814.  Note . — The  only  dated  reissue  of  this  volume  was, 
as  far  as  is  known,  made  in  the  spring  of  Bunsei  11  (1828),  and  this  is 

153 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 

marked  sai-han,  which  may  mean  either  “  second  edition  ”  or  “  republica¬ 
tion." 

Volume  2.  Bunkwa  12  Kinoto  I  mo-shun,  i.e.  the  first  spring  month  of 
1815,  which  began  on  February  9th. 

Volume  3.  Bunkwa  12  Kinoto  I  mo-ka,  i.e.  the  first  summer  month  of 

1815,  which  began  on  May  9th.  Note . — In  the  spring  of  Bunkwa  13, 
January  29th  to  April  26th,  1816,  the  second  editions  of  Volumes  2  and  3 
were  published. 

Volumes  4  and  5.  Bunkwa  13  Ne  natsu,  i.e.  the  summer  of  the  Rat  year, 

1816,  April  27th  to  July  24th. 

Volumes  6,  7,  8,  and  9.  Bunkwa  14  Ushi  md-shun,  i.e.  the  first  spring 
month  of  the  Ox  year,  1817,  which  began  on  February  16th.  Note  A . — 
In  every  record,  both  Japanese  and  Western,  that  has  been  examined,  the 
date  of  Volume  9,  one  of  the  best  of  the  series,  has  been  given  as  1819. 
This  is  the  first  record  of  the  1817  edition,  and  no  other  copy  has  been 
seen.  Note  B . — In  the  spring  of  Bunkwa  14,  which  began  February  16th 
and  terminated  May  15th,  1817,  the  second  edition  of  Volumes  4  and  5 
and  the  third  edition  of  Volumes  2  and  3  were  published. 

Volume  10.  Bunsei  2  U  haru,  i.e.  the  spring  of  the  Hare  year,  1819 ; 
began  January  26th  and  terminated  April  23rd,  1819.  Note . — On  the 
same  date  were  published  the  4th  edition  of  Volumes  2  and  3  ;  the  third 
editions  of  Volumes  4  and  5  ;  and  the  second  editions  of  Volumes  6,  7,  8, 
and  9. 

General  Note . — In  Volume  1  the  master  had  the  co-operation  of  his 
Nagoya  pupils  Hokutei  Bokusen  and  Tonansei  Hoku-un,  and  in  Volumes 
2  and  3  that  of  his  Yedo  pupils  Uwo-  (or  Sakana-)  ya  Hokkei  and  Toyenro 
Hokusen  in  addition.  Volumes  1,  2,  and  3  in  their  first  editions  are  signed 
“  Katsushika  Hokusai."  The  second  and  subsequent  editions  of  Volumes 
2  and  3  and  all  the  editions  of  Volumes  4  to  10  inclusive  are  signed  u  Hoku¬ 
sai  aratame  (changed  to)  Katsushika  Taito,"  and  are  sealed  with  a  seal 
usually  described  (perhaps  from  the  difficulty  in  deciphering  it)  as  a 
“  square  seal  with  reticules  or  interlaced  lines."  This  seal  reads  u  Fu-ji- 
ya-ma,"  written  in  a  peculiar  style  of  Hiragana,  and  is  of  interest  as 
indicative  of  Hokusai  admiration  of  the  “  Peerless  Mountain."  It  is 
interesting,  too,  to  note  that  in  his  second  masterpiece,  the  “  One  Hundred 
Views  of  Fuji  " — Fugaku  Hyak'kei — he  used  a  pictograph  of  Fuji  as  his 
seal,  in  which  the  white  cone  stands  out  in  relief  against  a  red  ground. 

After  the  publication  of  Volume  10,  Sumi-  (may  be  also  read  Kaku-) 
maruya  Jinsuke  ceded  the  blocks  to  Yeirakuya  Toshiro,  who  some  years 

154 


BUNSEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1818  TO  1830 

later  republished  the  first  ten  volumes,  but  without  date.  On  the  last 
page  of  each  volume  of  this  new  edition  the  artist's  name  is  given  as 
**  Katsushika  Hokusai/'  with  the  seal  **  Raishin."  The  master  had  taken 
the  first  of  these  names  at  the  close  of  1806  after  bestowing  his  former 
name  of  Gwakyojin  upon  a  pupil,  and  that  of  Raishin,  i.e.  Thunder  and 
Lightning,  in  commemoration  of  an  escape  from  being  struck  by  a  great 
thunderbolt  on  his  way  to  worship  at  the  shrine  of  the  god  Myoken  on 
Yanagishima  in  the  Honjo  quarter  of  Yedo. 

Inasmuch  as  this  Nagoya  edition  is  scarcely  inferior  to  the  Yedo  one,  we 
may  infer  that  it  appeared  within  a  year  or  two  of  1819. 

A  considerable  interval  elapsed  before  Yeirakuya  published  the  eleventh 
volume.  This  is  undated,  nor  does  Katano  give  any  date.  As,  however, 
he  assigns  the  spring  of  Tempo  Kinoe  Uma,  i.e.  February  9th  to  May  8th, 
1834,  as  the  date  of  Volume  12,  it  probably  appeared  some  time  previously. 
De  Goncourt  gives  its  date  as  1834,  but  on  what  authority  is  not  known. 
The  twelfth  volume  is  also  undated  ;  but  the  preface  bears  the  date  above 
assigned  by  Katano  as  the  date  of  publication,  which  may  therefore  be  taken 
as  correct.  When  Siebold  returned  from  Japan  in  1830,  neither  of  these 
two  volumes  had  appeared.  Volume  13  likewise  is  undated  ;  but  as  the 
preface  bears  a  date  corresponding  to  a  period  from  August  18th  to 
November  14th,  1849,  and  as  Katano  assigns  this  as  the  published  date, 
it  is  likely  to  be  correct.  There  is  no  date  of  publication  to  Volume  14, 
nor  is  its  preface  dated  ;  Katano  also  gives  no  date.  De  Goncourt  men¬ 
tions  1875,  though  as  far  as  is  known  there  is  no  authority  for  this  date. 
It  certainly  appeared,  however,  before  the  fifteenth  volume  in  the  autumn 
of  1878.  The  Mangwa  was  issued  in  many  other  editions,  most  of  them 
pirated  ;  but  these  impressions  are  so  bad  as  to  demand  no  notice.  Much 
may  be  gathered  from  the  prefaces,  written  by  contemporaries,  regarding 
the  master  and  his  work,  and  the  raison  d'etre  of  the  book. 

Hence  a  few  brief  extracts  may  be  advisable  embodying  the  salient 
features.  **  Everyone  recognizes  the  rare  genius  of  Hokusai-o.  During 
this  autumn  (1812),  the  master,  so  it  happened,  was  on  his  way  westwards 
and  broke  his  journey  at  our  prefecture  (Nagoya)  where  he  met  Gekkwotei 
Bokusen  to  their  mutual  joy.  More  than  three  hundred  designs  was  the 
fruit  of  their  conversations."  **  Nothing  in  Nature  has  been  omitted. 
His  brush  has  evoked  the  real  spirit  of  all  things — that  truthful  spirit 
which  painters  in  recent  years  have  been  unable  to  grasp  through  an 
uncertain  touch  and  a  lack  of  ability  to  reproduce  their  ideas.  .  .  .  The 
volume  is,  indeed,  a  model  for  art  students.  The  master  himself  chose  the 

155 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


title  of  '  Mangwa.'  .  .  .  “  What  particularly  strikes  one  is  the  excellence 
of  the  human  figures  of  every  station  in  life/'  .  .  .  44  The  master,  Katsu¬ 
shika  Hokusai,  has  reproduced  with  extraordinary  deftness  and  fidelity 
all  objects  that  his  eyes  have  ever  seen  or  his  brain  has  ever  conceived/' 
.  .  .  **  All  know  how  devoted  Katsushika  Taito  is  to  his  art.  His  works 
and  prints  published  in  Yedo  are  much  prized  and  are  in  enormous  demand ; 
and  his  brush  never  lies  idle."  .  ♦ .  “  From  his  boyhood,  Taitd  displayed  a 
bent  for  drawing.  He  ate  and  drew,  drew  and  ate,  till  finally  he  originated 
the  Katsushika  style  and  became  famous."  .  ♦  ♦  u  Hokusai  cared  nought 
for  sake  and  looked  with  contempt  upon  tea.  Nor  had  pleasures  and 
distractions  any  attraction  for  him — to  art  alone  has  he  devoted  fifty  years." 
...  We  are  also  informed  that  the  Mangwa  was  the  outcome  of  a  demand 
by  Hokusai's  numerous  pupils  for  drawings  that  might  serve  them  as 
models  and  by  studying  which  they  might  follow  in  his  footsteps  and 
perhaps  eventually  approach  his  skill ;  also  that  the  Master's  intention 
was  to  complete  the  work  in  twenty  volumes. 

Amongst  the  pupils  of  Toyokuni  I  who  designed  prints  during  Bunsei 
and  Tempo  were  Toyoshige,  Kunitsugu,  and  Kunitora. 

Toyoshige  (personal  name  Genzo)  was  born  in  1777.  In  addition  to 
Toyoshige  he  used  the  go  of  Ichiyeisai  and  Ichiryusai,  and  as  the  adopted 
son  of  his  teacher  the  signature  “  Toyokuni's  humble  son  ( segare )  Toyoshige." 
On  the  death  of  Toyokuni  he  is  said  to  have  married  his  widow  and  to 
have  received  her  permission  to  call  himself  the  second  Toyokuni,  a  title 
which  the  other  pupils  never  recognized,  deeming  him  to  be  an  unworthy 
successor.  He  then  signed  his  prints  Kosotei,  Ichiyeisai,  Ichiryusai 
Toyokuni,  or  Toyokuni ;  but  never,  as  far  as  is  known,  Toyokuni  the 
Second  ;  nor,  it  is  believed,  did  he  use  his  master's  brush-name  of  Ichi- 
yosai,  though  some  assert  that  he  occasionally  so  signed.  He  died  on 
December  20th,  1835. 

Other  pupils  of  Toyokuni  who  worked  about  the  same  time  were  Kuni¬ 
tora,  personal  name  Kumezo ;  and  Kunitsugu,  personal  name  Kozo,  go 
Ichiosai,  born  1800,  died  1861. 

Katsushika  Taito  II,  whose  real  name  was  Kameya  Saburo,  worked 
from  about  1821  to  1853.  He  was  a  pupil  of  Hokusai  and  was  first  called 
Hokusen.  In  1820  his  teacher  took  the  brush-name  of  I-itsu,  at  the  same 
time  bestowing  upon  his  pupil  his  discarded  name  of  Taito.  He  owned 
one  of  the  hikite-jaya  or  “  guide  tea-houses,"  so  called  from  their  being 
used  by  visitors  for  assignation  purposes,  in  the  New  Yoshiwara.  In  the 
Kayei  period  he  removed  to  Osaka  where  he  designed  some  prints  in 

156 


BUNSEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1818  TO  1830 

imitation  of  his  master's  style  which  he  signed  with  his  name  for  which 
he  had  no  authority.  This  earned  for  him  the  nickname  of  “  Dog  Hoku¬ 
sai."  Opinions  differ  as  to  whether  the  well-known  print  “  The  Monkey 
Bridge,"  as  it  is  usually  called,  is  the  work  of  Hokusai  himself  or  of  his 
pupil.  There  are  two  prints  almost  identical  and  each  signed  **  Katsushika 
Taito."  In  one  the  moon  is  small  and  the  shadows  of  the  boats  are 
reflected  in  the  water.  This  bears  the  kiwame  seal  and  was  published  by 
Echigoya  Chohachi.  The  other  was  published  by  Izumiya  Ichibei  and 
has  two  censor  seals.  The  superiority  in  drawing  and  colouring  of  the 
first  points  to  its  being  the  master's  work  about  1818.  The  second  was 
probably  not  published  till  about  1842. 

Bunsei  is  the  period  of  Hokusai's  splendour.  During  these  years  he 
produced  the  magnificent  sets  of  colour-prints  of  landscape  and  of  flowers 
on  which  his  fame  largely  rests,  as  well  as  the  Mangwa . 

So  far  as  the  old  tradition  of  nishiki-ye  was  concerned,  production  was  as 
multitudinous  as  ever.  But  conception,  design,  and  colour  were  equally 
debased. 

Toyokuni  lived  on  to  1825,  but  his  work  was  virtually  over  before  Bunsei 
began.  Yeisan  was  the  most  popular  designer  of  bijin-ye  of  the  day  ;  but 
Kunisada  was  coming  into  prominence.  Starting  with  theatrical  prints, 
in  which  he  followed  Toyokuni  very  closely,  Kunisada  soon  enlarged  his 
range  and  produced  many  prints  of  beauties,  mothers  and  children,  etc., 
in  the  vein  of  Utamaro's  last  years.  Occasionally  one  finds  a  print,  or 
group  of  prints,  in  which  Kunisada's  gift  is  acceptable  both  as  composition 
and  as  colour,  especially  those  in  which  he  has  chosen  small  patterns  for 
the  dresses.  Certainly  Kunisada's  earlier  phases  are  quite  superior  to  the 
last  phase  of  Toyokuni.  In  1825  he  published  a  memorial  portrait  of 
Toyokuni,  just  after  the  master's  death  ;  a  whole-length  portrait,  standing, 
in  Buddhist  robes,  with  yellow  ground.  It  is  plain,  unaffected  portraiture, 
without  being  in  any  way  masterly.  Before  this  date  Hokusai  had  begun 
to  publish  the  first  of  his  landscape  prints. 

In  all  the  landscape  sets  of  which  we  are  now  to  speak  there  is  a  novelty 
which  strikes  the  eye  at  once.  This  is  the  strong  blue,  “  Prussian  blue," 
imported  from  Europe  apparently  about  this  time.  Hitherto  only  fugitive 
blues  had  been  available,  and  none  with  any  depth  of  tone.  There  is  every 
reason  to  think  that  Hokusai  was  the  first  to  employ  this  new  colour. 
Before  long  it  was  to  come  into  universal  use  in  figure-designs,  but  we  do 
not  know  of  any  figure-design  in  which  it  occurs  of  an  earlier  date  than 

157 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


1823,  whereas  prints  of  this  kind  which  are  known  to  be  of  later  date  are 
without  it.  In  any  case  Hokusai  was  the  master  most  fitted  to  use  this  new 
colour-resource. 

Ukiyo-ye  is  the  mirror  of  the  transient  world,  the  “  glass  of  fashion/'  the 
art  of  the  captured  moment.  What  had  it  to  do  with  the  eternal  hills  i 

In  Europe,  in  this  same  epoch,  painters  and  poets  were  turning  to  the 
solitudes  of  sea  and  mountain  as  an  escape  from  the  world  of  mankind. 
But  here  was  no  Romantic  Movement,  no  self-absorbed  melancholy,  no 
gesture  of  satiety  and  vague  craving.  It  was,  simply,  the  completion  of 
Ukiyo-ye  by  the  addition  of  the  last  province  left  to  it.  In  Europe  the 
passion  for  wild  nature  was  new ;  in  Asia  it  was  very  old.  And  just  as, 
at  every  stage,  we  have  seen  Ukiyo-ye  challenge  the  classic  schools  in  one 
field  after  another,  so  now  it  will  rise  to  its  last  and  greatest  effort  of  self¬ 
vindication  ;  for  in  the  Far  East  it  is  landscape  which  is  held  to  be  the 
supreme  sphere  of  painting.  As  before,  it  will  assert  the  Yamato  genius  ; 
it  will  be  national.  The  Kano  academicians  might  go  on  for  ever  repeating 
their  pictures  of  mist  and  peak  and  torrent  from  the  China  which  they  had 
never  seen.  The  Yamato  yeshi ,  the  painter  of  Japan,  would  vindicate  the 
beauty  of  his  own  land.  It  is  no  longer  legendary  sages  and  contemplative 
poets  who  haunt  lake-shore  or  mountain-glen,  but  the  ordinary  traveller, 
bent  on  business  or  pleasure,  who  will  be  seen  journeying  the  hilly  roads, 
pilgrims  resorting  to  shrines,  ronin  with  their  curved  flutes,  coolies  with 
packs  upon  their  backs  or  straw- capes  to  protect  them  from  the  rain.  It 
is  Nature  seen  with  the  eyes  of  workaday  Japan.  It  is  Ukiyo-ye  after  all ; 
the  pleasure  of  the  people  in  their  own  doings  and  amusements  completed 
by  their  pleasure  in  the  world  of  nature  about  them. 

For  even  in  teeming  Yedo,  with  its  acres  of  streets  and  houses,  there 
are  glimpses  to  be  had  of  Fuji-san,  the  peerless  mountain,  which  for 
unnumbered  generations  has  shone  in  its  solitary  altitude  as  a  symbol  of 
the  soul  of  Japan,  haunting  the  memory  of  her  poets,  and  even  for  the 
humblest  and  poorest  seeming  a  kind  of  heavenly  possession  of  virgin 
beauty.  And  it  was  to  the  peak  of  Fuji-san  that  Hokusai  turned  when  the 
impulse  came  to  him  to  see  what  Ukiyo-ye  could  achieve  in  the  art  of 
landscape  design.  The  famous  Thirty-six  Views  of  Fuji,  supplemented 
by  another  ten  views,  were  published  during  the  years  1823-1829. 

Hitherto  the  uki-ye  had  been  the  recognized  type  of  landscape  for  the 
colour-print.  We  have  noted  specimens  by  various  masters  since  the  days 
of  Okumura  Masanobu  in  earlier  chapters.  Hokusai  in  the  years  when 
he  was  still  Shunro  had  designed  them,  and  the  Chushingura  set,  signed 

158 


BUNSEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1818  TO  1830 

Kako,  belonged  to  this  type,  with  its  elaborate  essays  in  perspective  and 
bands  of  formal  red  cloud  at  the  top  of  the  design. 

Now  that  Hokusai,  with  his  powers  fully  matured,  set  out  to  design 
landscape  in  the  medium  of  the  colour-woodcut,  what  tradition  did  he 
build  on  i  He  retained  when  he  chose  the  bands  of  cloud  or  mist,  which 
had  originally  been  a  convention  of  the  old  Tosa  school  of  painting,  cutting 
into  the  design  with  clearly  defined  shapes,  not  melting  and  gradated  as 
in  the  Chinese  tradition.  He  made  his  masses  broad  and  simple,  with  no 
small  curves  in  their  outlines ;  and  with  a  few  selected  colours,  boldly 
contrasted  at  will,  built  up  a  design  not  only  admirably  suited  to  the 
woodcut  medium,  but  organically  coherent.  Accidents  and  “  weather  ” 
he  disregarded,  pursuing  rather  characteristic  structure  and  a  sort  of 
natural  drama.  The  landscape  art  thus  created  was  in  the  Japanese  tradi¬ 
tion,  yet  was  like  nothing  that  had  been  done  before  ;  it  was  in  effect  a 
new  creation,  a  new  synthesis  of  elements  lying  to  hand  in  the  art  of  the 
past.  Just  as  Sotatsu  and  Korin  had  fused  Chinese  breadth  and  unity  of 
impression  with  Japanese  motives  and  decoration  for  the  special  purposes 
of  screen-painting,  Hokusai  combined  these  with  hints  from  all  the  styles 
he  had  so  eagerly  studied  to  form  a  new  and  profoundly  original  manner 
of  design  for  the  special  purposes  of  the  colour-print. 

As  we  look  through  the  long  series  of  the  Views  of  Fuji,  we  see  how 
with  one  part  of  his  mind  Hokusai  is  caught  by  motives  that  in  other  hands 
might  have  resulted  only  in  something  freakish,  droll,  or  merely  trivial. 
Travellers  on  a  windy  day,  with  their  hats  blown  off  into  the  sky  and 
papers  whirled  up  on  the  gust  (a  parallel  motive  had  been  turned  by 
Masanobu  and  Harunobu  to  the  prettiest  account,  with  a  girl  for  the 
wind's  victim) ;  a  cooper  caulking  inside  the  huge  round  of  a  cask,  through 
which  distant  Fuji  appears ;  workmen  repairing  the  roof  of  a  building ; 
sawyers  at  work  on  an  enormous  log  tipped  up  on  a  huge  trestle  ;  a  fisher¬ 
man  perched  on  a  rock  in  the  sea  and  pulling  in  his  lines  :  the  way  in 
which  the  peerless  cone  would  come  into  odd  or  fantastic  relation  with 
such  sights  of  the  everyday  world  entertained,  one  sees,  the  surface  of  the 
artist's  mind ;  but  no  matter  what  the  ingredients,  there  results,  instinctively 
wrought  out  at  a  deeper  level  of  his  consciousness,  magnificent  design. 
This  is  Hokusai's  extraordinary  originality,  his  freedom  from  bias  toward 
the  accepted  combinations  of  beauty.  He  takes  the  whole  world  of  sight, 
decomposes  it  with  a  vigour  like  that  of  a  potter  kneading  clay,  and  with  a 
gust  of  creative  energy  composes  it  afresh,  a  thing  of  integral  life.  The 
presence  of  Fuji-san,  now  near,  now  remote,  now  dominating,  now  hardly 

159 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


seen  on  the  horizon ;  a  blue  silhouette  on  the  evening  sky  beyond  the 
long  arch  of  the  great  bridge  over  the  Sumida,  watched  by  a  crowd  of 
holiday-makers  in  a  ferry-boat ;  a  red,  snow-streaked  cone  emerging  from 
the  plain ;  a  white  apparition  at  the  edge  of  a  snow- covered  world :  the 
continued  presence  of  this  solitary  form  throughout  the  series  gives  to  the 
whole  array  of  prints  a  unity  of  theme,  so  that  it  seems  irrelevant  to  com¬ 
plain  of  inequality  in  the  series*  Inequality  there  is,  no  doubt ;  but  it  is 
the  indispensable  inequality  of  an  epic  poem,  where  we  take  for  granted 
the  lower  levels,  the  tamer  or  more  bustling  scenes,  because  they  fall  into 
their  place  and  do  but  enhance  the  strains  of  loftier  feeling  and  sublimer 
rhythm.  As  if  he  could  not  help  his  deeper  nature  emerging  to  the  surface, 
in  spite  of  occasional  proneness  to  be  taken  by  whimsical  juxtapositions  or 
amusing  incident,  Hokusai  again  and  again  rises  to  the  grandeur  of  sim¬ 
plicity,  and  in  the  culminating  pages  of  this  series  answers  the  elemental 
in  nature  with  an  elemental  power  in  himself*  The  Red  Fuji  in  clear  weather 
against  a  sky  barred  white  and  blue ;  the  Fuji  above  the  Lightning ;  and 
the  deep-sea  Wave  toppling  over  the  men  rowing  in  their  fragile  boat ; 
these,  by  common  consent,  are  the  greatest  prints  of  the  forty-six,  and  are 
among  the  great  landscape  designs  of  the  world.  But  even  if  these  be 
abstracted,  what  a  number  of  memorable  designs  remain  ! 

The  colouring  of  this  set  of  prints  varies  much  in  different  impressions, 
though  a  few  are  schemed  in  green  and  blue  only,  and  therefore  offer  little 
scope  for  variety.  The  key-block  is  sometimes  printed  in  black,  sometimes 
in  blue ;  but  neither  of  these  must  be  taken  as  in  themselves  indications 
of  early  impression. 

Before  the  publication  of  the  Thirty-six  Views  was  completed  in  1829 
Hokusai  had  published  other  landscape  sets,  the  **  Waterfalls  "  and  the 
44  Bridges,"  and  apparently  also  the  large  44  Flowers  "  and  the  small 
44  Flowers  and  Birds." 

The  44  Waterfalls  "  are  even  more  original  in  design  than  the  Fuji  series  ; 
some  are  even  a  little  bizarre.  They  astonish  by  their  force  and  boldness 
of  conception.  The  spray,  the  sparkle,  the  drifting  haze,  the  wetness 
of  the  falling  water,  are  nothing  to  Hokusai ;  what  he  sees,  what  he 
communicates,  is  its  plunging  mass,  its  weight,  its  energy.  Tones  of 
blue  predominate  in  the  colouring,  relieved  by  green  and  pale  buff. 
All  is  concentrated  and  intense.  The  44  Fall  of  Yoro  "  is  especially 
magnificent. 

The  44  Bridges  "  are  by  comparison  a  tamer  series,  containing  no  great 
masterpiece,  though  never  falling  below  a  high  level,  for  Hokusai's  design 

160 


BUNSEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1818  TO  1830 

is  always  interesting.  The  subjects  perhaps  tied  him  down  too  much,  they 
did  not  supply  the  motives  which  inspired  his  supreme  efforts. 

The  Large  Flower  set,  published  by  Yeijudo  about  1828,  is,  on  the  other 
hand,  one  of  Hokusai's  most  satisfying  works.  There  appear  to  have  been 
earlier  sets  of  flowers  in  Ukiyo-ye,  by  Shigemasa  and  by  Shunsho,  though 
they  can  only  be  traced  in  a  few  scattered  specimens ;  and  there  is  the 
incomparable  Insect  Book  of  Utamaro  which  contains  exquisite  flower¬ 
drawing.  But  nothing  had  yet  been  done  of  the  grandeur  and  power  of 
Hokusai's  series.  At  this  period  he  was  saturated  with  the  study  of  Chinese 
work ;  and  it  is  probable  that  he  now  aimed  at  transcending  the  floral 
designs,  familiar  from  such  Chinese  colour-printed  books  as  the  **  Mustard 
Seed  Garden."  It  is  unfortunate  that  this  series  is  extremely  rare,  for  it 
shows  the  master  at  his  most  attractive,  with  very  little  of  his  peculiar 
mannerisms.  De  Goncourt  says  that  it  consists  of  ten  sheets,  and  his 
statement  has  been  generally  accepted.  These  ten  were  perhaps  the  chief 
glory  of  the  de  Camondo  collection,  now  in  the  Louvre ;  eight  of  them 
being  reproduced  in  the  Paris  V.I.  Catalogue .  There  are,  however,  at 
least  eleven.  Those  in  the  Louvre  are  :  Chrysanthemums  and  Butterfly  ; 
Irises ;  Lilies ;  Convolvulus  and  Tree-toad  (reproduced  in  colours, 
Plate  15);  Orange  Orchid;  Peonies;  Narcissus;  Sparrow  and  Fuyo 
(Hibiscus  mutabilis ) ;  Poppies  ;  Swallow  and  Hydrangea.  The  last  three 
of  these  are  in  a  rather  different  and  more  mannered  style  than  the  others. 
To  these  must  be  added  the  Kikyo  and  Dragon-Fly,  an  impression  of  which 
is  in  the  British  Museum.  Some  of  the  set  are  on  a  yellow,  others  on  a  blue 
ground.  In  the  “  Peonies  "  and  in  the  4 4  Chrysanthemums  "  a  wind  is 
blowing  and  makes  the  flowers  on  their  pliant  stems  tremble  and  sway. 
Both  of  these  are  very  nobly  designed  ;  but  indeed  the  whole  series  is 
magnificent,  both  in  design  and  colour.  The  **  Lilies  "  especially  have  a 
simple  grandeur,  comparable  to  the  vision  of  the  red  Fuji  in  the  Thirty-six 
Views. 

A  set  of  very  large  prints,  upright  in  shape,  of  birds  and  flowers  and 
flowering  trees,  was  published  after  Hokusai's  death,  but  not  designed  for 
the  woodcut.  This  set  has  sometimes  been  confused  with  the  “  Large 
Flowers  " ;  and  the  same  confusion  has  also  arisen  with  regard  to  a  set  of 
oblong  prints  with  a  forged  signature  of  Hokusai,  made  up  from  subjects 
in  Taito's  Kwacho  Gwaden,  published  at  Osaka  in  1848-1849. 

About  the  same  time  Hokusai  published,  also  with  Yeijudo,  another  set 
of  Flowers  and  Birds,  generally  known  as  the  Small  Flowers.  These  are 
also  rare.  Ten,  probably  the  complete  set,  in  brilliant  impressions,  are  in 

161  m 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


the  British  Museum.  These  are  fine  in  colour  (varying  in  different 
impressions),  but  as  design  are  not  to  be  compared  with  the  Large  Flowers. 
They  are  charming  rather  than  great.  And  in  several  cases  the  birds, 
though  not  the  flowers,  betray  Hokusai's  mannerisms.  In  drawing  birds 
Hokusai  exaggerates  the  eyes  and  gives  a  peculiar  set  to  the  head 
and  neck,  so  that  his  birds  seem  to  belong  to  a  Hokusai  world  of 
their  own. 

The  set  of  Eight  Views  in  the  Lu  Chu  Islands,  the  precise  date  of  which 
is  unknown,  may  be  mentioned  here.  Presumably  based  on  sketches  or 
descriptions  by  another  hand,  they  have  not  the  interest  of  Hokusai's 
Japanese  landscapes ;  but  in  their  bright  gay  colouring  of  blue,  white, 
and  green,  and  their  free  and  a  little  fantastic  composition,  they  have  a 
charm  of  their  own,  recalling  Chinese  landscapes. 

Towards  1830  appeared  the  u  Goblins,"  a  set  of  which  only  five  were 
issued.  Perhaps,  as  de  Goncourt  surmises,  these  proved  too  terrifying  to 
be  popular.  Yet,  with  all  their  power,  one  feels  latent  in  them  the  sort 
of  delight  that  children  take  in  gruesomeness,  rather  than  imaginative 
horror,  though  one  must  allow  that  the  paper  lantern  decomposing  into 
the  features  of  the  dead  wife  of  the  man  who  had  offered  it  on  her  tomb 
is  truly  terrible. 

And  now  we  come  to  what  is  by  many  considered  Hokusai's  crowning 
achievement  in  the  colour-print,  the  Shika  Shashinkio,  Living  Images 
from  the  Poets  of  China  and  Japan.  This  set  of  ten  kakemono-ye  is  indeed 
a  magnificent  array  of  most  original  and  impressive  designs,  and  taken  as  a 
whole  is  unsurpassed,  though  we  may  doubt  if  any  single  print  among 
them  quite  vies  with  the  u  Wave  "  and  the  two  red  Fujis.  The  types,  in 
the  Chinese  figures  at  any  rate,  are  mannered  and  lack  nobility.  In  the 
finest  of  the  set,  the  u  Toba,"  there  is  nobility  and  pathos  in  the  principal 
figure,  but  then  he  sits  on  his  horse  averted  from  us,  and  we  do  not  see  his 
face.  It  is  in  the  relation  of  the  figures  to  the  landscape  that  these  prints 
are  consummate.  Neither  element  dominates  the  other  ;  there  is  a  sense 
of  the  power  and  vastness  and  mystery  of  nature — the  moonlit  sea  melting 
into  infinite  distance,  the  waterfall  plunging  from  huge  heights,  rivers 
flowing  for  ever,  crags  towering  sheer  from  ocean  into  coils  of  mist — but 
there  is  also  a  sense  of  the  strength  and  dignity  of  man,  supported  by  his 
own  spirit  in  exile  and  desolation,  and  though  full  of  longings  and 
experienced  in  grief  still  aware  that  “  the  world  is  all  before  him."  In 
the  “  Toru  Daijin  "  and  the  “  Tsuraki "  there  is  a  great  calm  and  stillness, 
unusual  with  Hokusai.  The  **  Shonenko,"  on  the  other  hand,  breathes  of 

162 


BUNSEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1818  TO  1830 

youth  and  movement.  The  44  Toba  "  with  its  snow  is  a  vision  of  one  who 
has  come  to  the  end  of  things.  The  “  Rihaku  "  contemplates  eternity  in 
the  fall  of  the  great  stream. 

One  cannot  help  wondering  what  it  was  that  inspired  Hokusai  to  make 
this  particular  choice  of  subjects.  Were  these  poets  or  poems — for  in  some 
cases  it  is  a  poet,  in  others  a  poem  which  gives  the  motive — already 
associated  together  in  literary  tradition  i  If  so,  this  has  not  yet  been  traced. 
In  the  case  of  more  than  one  of  these  prints  there  has  been  misapprehension 
of  the  precise  subject ;  and  it  may  be  of  interest  to  give  here  some  notes 
on  such  of  the  prints  as  present  a  problem  in  this  regard. 

Haku  Rakuten.  This  is  the  Japanese  name  for  the  great  Chinese  poet, 
Po  Chti-I.  The  print  pictures  the  poet  standing  on  a  rock,  while  three 
attendants  hold  up  a  scroll  inscribed  with  a  poem.  On  a  rock  below  sits 
a  fisherman  who  points  to  the  scroll.  The  explanation  of  this  print,  which 
has  been  incorrectly  interpreted,  is  to  be  found  in  the  No  play,  44  Haku 
Rakuten/'  translated  by  Mr.  Arthur  Waley  in  his  No  Plays  of  Japan, 
p.  248,  etc.  Po  Chii-I  never  visited  Japan,  but  his  poetry  enjoyed 
immense  fame  there.  “  In  the  second  half  of  the  9th  century,"  says  Mr. 
Waley,  44  the  composition  of  Chinese  verse  became  fashionable  at  the 
Chinese  court,  and  native  forms  of  poetry  were  for  a  time  threatened  with 
extinction."  At  the  end  of  the  14th  century,  when  Seami  wrote  this  play, 
a  similar  danger  threatened  through  the  great  wave  of  Chinese  influence 
which  swept  over  art  and  literature.  In  the  play,  Haku  Rakuten  is  sent 
by  the  Chinese  emperor  to  conquer  Japan  by  his  poetry.  On  the  coast  of 
Bizen  he  meets  two  fishermen,  one  of  whom  is  really  the  god  of  Japanese 
poetry,  whose  home  is  the  Sumiyoshi  shrine,  under  this  disguise.  The 
fisherman  salutes  him  by  his  name,  to  his  great  astonishment ;  and  when 
he  displays  a  poem — that  shown  in  Hokusai's  print — about  the  moss  that 
cloaks  the  shoulders  of  the  rocks  and  the  clouds  that  fold  like  a  girdle 
round  the  crags,  the  fisherman  reads  it  off  at  once  as  a  Japanese  uta.  The 
poem,  of  course,  is  not  a  genuine  poem  of  Po  Chii-I's,  but  one  ingeniously 
composed  of  such  characters  as  might  make  verse  in  Japanese  pronuncia¬ 
tion.  Haku  is  conquered  by  this  proof  of  the  vitality  of  the  Japanese 
poetry.  In  Moronobu's  book,  Onna  Shorei  Shu,  the  episode  is  given, 
with  a  different  conclusion.  The  fisherman  reveals  his  identity  and 
entertains  the  Chinese  poet  at  his  shrine.  There  by  a  stratagem  he  causes 
the  shellfish  to  start  fighting ;  whereon  Haku  exclaims,  44  What,  can  your 
very  shellfish  fight  i  How  much  more  your  men  !  "  And  he  leaves  for 
home  forthwith. 


163 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


Toru  no  Daijin.  Toru  no  Daijin  was  son  of  the  emperor  Saga;  he  was 
born  in  822  and  died  in  895.  He  amused  his  aristocratic  leisure  by  building 
a  palace  at  Rokujo,  Kyoto,  near  the  Kamo  river,  and  laying  out  the 
grounds  in  imitation  of  Shio-gama  Bay,  famous  for  its  salt-kilns.  He 
filled  a  lake  with  sea-water  brought  from  Osaka,  and  built  kilns  for 
manufacturing  salt.  Here  he  held  revels  and  wrote  poems  with  his  friends 
by  moonlight.  In  the  Hyakunin  Isshu  he  is  represented  by  a  poem  in  which 
he  compares  the  confusion  wrought  in  his  thoughts  by  his  love  to  the 
fern-patterns  of  Michinoku  prints  (Michinoku  being  the  province  in  which 
is  Shiogama  Bay,  and  famous  for  cotton  fabrics  printed  in  intricate  patterns 
by  impression  from  actual  ferns).  But  there  is  also  a  Chinese  poem  on 
the  Moon  by  Toru,  a  translation  of  which  has  been  kindly  supplied  by 
Mr.  Arthur  Waley.  It  runs  :  u  The  fish  that  wander  in  the  water  suspect 
that  it  is  a  curving  hook  :  The  birds  that  fly  in  the  clouds  above  in  their 
panic  mistake  it  for  a  bow/'  This  poem  is  illustrated  in  Morikuni's  book 
Yoki-yoku-gwashi .  The  crescent  moon  appears  also  in  Hokusai's  print, 
though  otherwise  there  is  no  direct  allusion  either  to  the  Chinese  or 
Japanese  poem.  Both  probably  would  be  in  the  memory  of  those  for 
whom  the  print  was  made. 

Tokusa  Kari.  This  seems  to  be  an  illustration  of  Jakuren's  poem,  which 
Mr.  Waley  thus  translates  for  us  :  u  Wetting  the  sleeve  of  the  hemp 
garment  of  the  man  of  Kiso  when  tokusa  (rushes)  are  cut,  the  dew  falls  in 
pearls  that  need  no  polishing." 

Ri  Haku.  This  illustrates  a  poem  by  Li  Po  (600-760),  the  famous 
Chinese  poet.  The  waterfall  is  the  fall  of  Lo-Shan  near  the  peak  called 
Hsing-lu-feng  in  the  Lu-Shan  range,  in  the  province  of  Kiang-Si.  The 
poem  is  translated  in  The  Works  of  Li  Pof  by  Shigeyoshi  Obata  (New  York, 
1922),  and  contains  the  lines  : 

As  wind-driven  snow  speed  the  waters 
Like  a  white  rain-bow  spanning  the  dark. 

I  wonder  if  Heaven's  River 1  had  fallen  from  above 
To  course  through  the  mid-sky  of  clouds. 

Long  I  lift  my  gaze.  Oh,  prodigious  force  ! 

How  majestic  the  creation  of  gods  ! 

The  last  two  lines  seem  specially  to  have  been  in  Hokusai's  mind. 

Narihira.  There  seems  to  be  no  poem  by  Narihira  which  exactly  fits 
the  subject  of  this  print.  The  building  in  the  background  has  been 
recognised  as  Kinryusan  temple,  on  the  Sumida  River.  If  this  actual 

1  The  Milky  Way. 

164 


BUNSEI  PERIOD:  FROM  1818  TO  1830 

locality  be  meant,  the  allusion  should  be  to  a  passage  in  the  Ise  Monogatari , 
where  Narihira  tells  how  on  reaching  the  Sumida  at  evening,  in  his  long 
journey  from  Miyako,  he  felt  homesick  as  he  went  down  to  the  ferry.  “  My 
fellow-travellers  and  myself  were  calling  to  mind  those  we  had  left  behind 
at  Miyako,  when  we  spied  a  flock  of  birds  with  red  bills  and  legs  which 
are  not  seen  in  Kyoto.  So  we  asked  the  ferryman  what  birds  they  were, 
and  he  replied,  *  Miyako-dori/  Hence  I  composed  this  verse  :  *  If 
indeed  you  be  Miyako-dori,  tell  me,  I  pray  you,  if  my  beloved  be  alive  or 
no/  ”  The  only  objection  to  this  interpretation  is  that  the  birds  on  the 
shore  are  not  miyako-dori  (oyster-catchers),  but  wild  geese.  The  flight 
of  birds  in  the  sky  may  be  meant  for  miyako-dori ,  though  one  would 
expect  them  to  be  wild  geese  also.  The  women  and  boy  beating  cloth  in 
the  foreground  give  the  sentiment  of  the  scene  ;  the  sound  of  the  beating 
on  an  autumn  evening  being  traditionally  associated  with  moods  of 
melancholy  and  longing.  There  are  poems  on  this  subject,  but  not  by 
Narihira.  The  mood  of  longing  for  his  absent  love  is  expressed  in  a 
poem  by  him  on  the  iris,  where  the  word  for  iris  is  only  introduced  as  a 
kind  of  acrostic,  the  separate  syllables  of  the  word  forming  the  commence¬ 
ment  of  the  several  verses.  It  is  unlikely,  however,  that  this  would  not  be 
illustrated  by  a  picture  of  the  poet  contemplating  the  iris-beds.  In  any 
case  there  is  no  doubt  about  the  mood  intended  to  be  conveyed. 

Toba.  The  print  with  the  horseman  in  the  big  hat  on  a  snowy  hill-side 
has  no  sub-title.  The  poet  is  generally  assumed  to  be  Toba,  i.e.  the 
famous  Chinese  poet  and  caligraphist  Su  Tung-po. 

Similar  representations  of  Toba  in  exile  are  common  in  art.  However, 
it  is  possible  that  it  is  not  Toba  who  is  here  pictured,  but  that  the  print 
illustrates  a  poem  by  Tobo,  i.e.  the  Chinese  Tu  Fu,  another  8th-century 
poet  who  rivals  Li  Po  in  fame.  A  very  similar  design  illustrating  this 
poem  is  engraved  in  Hokusai's  Toshisen  yehon-go-gon-ritsu ,  Vol.  Ill, 
published  in  1833.  The  poem  is  supposed  to  be  sent  to  an  absent  friend, 
lamenting  that  in  time  of  war  and  disturbance  he  had  left  friends  and 
kindred  and  had  ridden  out  alone  into  a  land  of  desolate  winter,  when 
the  roads  were  hard  to  travel.  The  poem  was  sent  to  show  what  warm 
affection  he  had  left  behind. 

Shonenko.  This  is  the  Japanese  name  for  a  classic  motive  of  Chinese 
poetry, 44  Youth  setting  out  from  home  ”  ;  there  are  about  thirty  versions 
of  it  by  poets  of  the  Dang  period,  but  it  is  not  possible  to  say  what 
particular  poem,  if  any,  Hokusai  had  in  mind.  The  youth  on  his  white 
horse  has  discarded  his  jewelled  whip  for  a  willow-branch.  The  print 

165 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


breathes  the  spirit  of  adventure,  emphasized  by  the  contrast  of  the  youth 
setting  forth  into  the  world  with  the  angler  dozing  over  his  rod. 

The  subjects  of  the  other  prints  of  this  series  present  no  difficulties. 
With  this  splendid  set  of  designs,  which  have  a  completeness  and  solidity 
of  effect,  with  their  strong  and  sometimes  strange  colouring,  hitherto 
unknown  in  Ukiyo-ye,  Hokusai  reaches  the  climax  of  his  art,  so  far  as  the 
colour-print  is  concerned.  He  was  still  to  produce  a  number  of  fine 
prints,  but  never  again  to  touch  quite  so  great  a  height. 


1 66 


CHAPTER  X 

TEMPO  AND  KOKWA  PERIODS 

JANUARY  25TH,  1830,  TO  FEBRUARY  4TH,  1848 


CHAPTER  X 


TEMPO  AND  KOKWA  PERIODS 

JANUARY  25TH,  1830,  TO  FEBRUARY  4th,  1848 

The  first  Toyokuni  was  buried  at  Kdunzen-ji  on  Hijiri  hill  in  Mita  ;  and 
his  pupils,  consulting  with  his  adopted  son  Toyokuni  II,  erected  a  stone 
monument  to  his  memory  in  the  grounds  of  Myokendo,  Yanagishima, 
Yedo,  in  mid-autumn  of  the  nth  year  of  Bunsei  (1828),  beneath  which 
were  buried  several  hundred  drawings  left  by  their  master.  Engraved 
on  the  back  of  the  monument  are  the  names  of  booksellers,  fan  dealers, 
and  pupils  who  subscribed,  together  with  a  notification  stating  that 
“  names  of  other  students  not  concerned  in  raising  this  monument  are 
omitted."  As  this  memorial  affords  a  useful  record  of  the  artists  upon 
whom  devolved  the  duty  of  perpetuating  the  Toyokuni  tradition  during 
the  periods  under  review,  a  complete  list  of  their  names  are  given  below. 
The  numerals  in  brackets  do  not  appear  on  the  stone,  but  are  inserted  to 
avoid  confusion  in  the  case  of  studio  names  used  by  two  or  more  artists 
in  after  years. 

Students  of  Toyokuni  I.  Twenty-nine,  including  the  second  Toyokuni. 
Kunimasa  (I) ;  Kuninaga  ;  Kunimitsu  (I) ;  Kunisada  (I) ;  Kuniyasu  (I) ; 
Kunimaru  (I) ;  Kunitsugu  ;  Kuniteru  (I) ;  Kuninao  (I) ;  Kuninobu  ; 
Kuniyoshi ;  Kunitada  ;  Kunitane  ;  Kunikatsu  ;  Kunitora  ;  Kunikane  ; 
Kunitake  ;  Kunimune  ;  Kunihiko  ;  Kunitoki ;  Kuniyuki ;  Kunitsuna  ; 
Miss  Kunihana  ;  Kunitame  ;  Kunitaka  ;  Kunihide  ;  Kunikage  ;  Kuni- 
chika  (I). 

Students  of  Toyokuni  IL  Eleven  in  all. 

Kunitomi ;  Kunitomo  ;  Miss  Kunihisa  (II) ;  Kuniharu  ;  Kunihiro  ; 
Kunishige  ;  Kunimori ;  Kunitsuru  ;  Kunimichi ;  Kunikazu  ;  Kunioki. 

Students  of  Kunisada .  Eleven  in  all. 

Sadatora  ;  Sadafusa  ;  Sadakage  ;  Sadahide  ;  Sadatsuna  ;  Sadayuki ; 
Sadataka  ;  Miss  Sadauta  ;  Sadahisa  ;  Sadanobu  ;  Sadahiro  of  Osaka. 

Students  of  Kuniyasu .  Six  in  all. 

Yasunobu  ;  Yasuhide  ;  Yasuharu  ;  Yasutsune  ;  Yasukiyo  ;  Yasumine. 

Students  of  Kunimaru .  Three  in  all. 

Shigemaru  ;  Toshimaru  ;  Teruhito. 

169 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 

Students  of  Kuninao .  These  are  not  named,  but  were  probably  Naomasa 
and  Naofusa. 

Students  of  Kuninobu .  Five  in  all. 

Nobukiyo  ;  Nobukazu  ;  Nobufusa  ;  Nobutoki ;  Nobusada. 

Students  of  Kuniyoshi .  Eight  in  all. 

Yoshiharu  ;  Yoshinobu  ;  Yoshifusa  ;  Yoshikiyo  ;  Yoshikage  ;  Yoshi- 
katsu  ;  Yoshimi ;  Yoshitomi. 

Students  of  Kunitane .  Five  in  all. 

Taneshige  ;  Tanemasa  ;  Tanekiyo  ;  Tanekage  ;  Tanenobu. 

Students  of  Kunikatsu .  Five  in  all. 

Katsushige  ;  Katsunobu  ;  Katsuhide  ;  Katsuyoshi ;  Katsumasa. 

Students  of  Kunitake .  Three  in  all. 

Takeshige  ;  Takemitsu  ;  Taketora. 

Students  of  Kunimune .1  ,,  ,  , 

P.  *  .  ,  r,  1  Names  are  not  recorded. 

Students  of  Kumtaka .  J 

Several  of  these  artists  designed  no  prints.  Others  worked  entirely  at 
Osaka.  Of  those  who  worked  at  Yedo  or  at  Yedo  and  Osaka  the  following 
alone  are  worthy  of  further  notice. 

Pupils  of  the  first  Toyokuni .  Dates  of  birth  and  death  in  each  case  unknown. 

Kuniteru,  whose  personal  name  was  Jinyemon,  is  to  be  distinguished 
from  a  later  artist  of  the  same  name,  a  pupil  of  Kunisada.  He  signed  some 
of  his  prints  Issai  Kuniteru. 

Kuninobu,  real  name  Kaneko  Sojiro,  at  first  used  the  go  of  Ichiyosai,  and 
later  that  of  Ichiyusai. 

Kunikane  used  the  go  of  Ipposai.  Kunimune  also  studied  under  Kuni- 
naga.  Kunihiko  used  the  go  of  Kokkisha ;  Kunitoki  that  of  Ikkansai ; 
Kunitsuna  those  of  Ichiransai,  Ichirantei,  and  Ichiyosai ;  Kunihide  that 
of  Ippitsusai ;  and  Kunikage  that  of  Isshosai. 

Kunichika,  who  used  the  go  of  Ichiyosai,  Ikkeisai,  and  Kaseisha,  is  to  be 
distinguished  from  a  later  artist,  pupil  of  Kunisada,  the  -chika  of  whose 
name  is  written  differently. 

Kunitaka  was  an  early  pupil  at  the  beginning  of  the  19th  century.  He 
is  known  only  by  an  interesting  surimono  of  the  fifth  Danjuro  saluting  his 
audience  at  the  New  Year  of  1804.  His  age  is  given  as  fifty-four ;  but  as 

170 


TEMPO  AND  KOKWA  PERIODS:  1830  TO  1848 

he  was  sixty-four  in  that  year,  either  fifty-four  is  a  mistake  for  sixty-four 
or  the  writer  of  the  verse  inscribed  on  the  print  has  purposely  substituted 
the  earlier  age  in  order  to  make  it  accord  with  the  conceit  of  the  poem, 
which  reads  thus  :  “A  man  from  the  East  has  come  over  the  mountains 
and  passed  the  fifty-three  stations  of  the  great  highway/' 

Pupils  of  the  second  Toyokuni .  Dates  of  birth  and  death  in  each  case 
unknown. 

Kunimori,  who  used  the  go  of  Ipposai  and  Kochoro,  is  identical  with 
Horai  Harumasu,  who  used  the  name  of  Kochoyen  about  1844,  and  who 
later  studied  under  Toyokuni  III  (formerly  Kunisada).  He  worked  both 
at  Yedo  and  Osaka. 

Kunihiro,  who  usually  signed  u  Toyokuni’s  pupil  Kunihiro,’'  also  worked 
in  both  cities. 

Pupils  of  Kunisada .  Dates  of  birth  and  death  in  each  case  unknown. 
Sadahide  worked  entirely  at  Yedo,  using  the  go  of  Gountei,  Gokuransei, 
Gokurantei,  Gokuran,  and  Gofutei. 

Sadakage  (go  Gokotei)  worked  first  at  Yedo,  but  later  and  chiefly  at 
Osaka. 

Hasegawa  Sadanobu  worked  mainly  at  Osaka. 

Pupil  of  Kuniyoshi . 

Yoshitomi,  who  used  the  go  of  Ichigeisai,  worked  at  Yedo  till  about 
1868.  Dates  of  birth  and  death  unknown. 

The  following  additional  print-designers  appeared  at  Yedo  during  these 
periods. 

Kwasentei  Tominobu,  whose  biography  is  unknown,  designed  prints  in 
a  style  between  that  of  Yeisen  and  Kunisada. 

Teisai  Sencho  was  a  pupil  of  Yeisen.  His  prints  of  women  follow  closely 
his  master's  style. 

Hokusanjin  Hoku-i  was  a  pupil  of  Hokusai,  and  worked  from  about 
1830  to  1840. 

Utagawa  Toyokuma  was  the  son  of  Toyokiyo  and  the  grandson  of 
Toyohiro.  Upon  his  father's  death,  he  was  adopted  by  the  first  Hiroshige. 
He  designed  a  few  surimono,  one  of  which  is  dated  1832  and  another  1838. 

Though  Toyokuni  was  dead,  and  Yeizan  retired,  the  Utagawa  school 
was  as  active  as  ever,  and  the  stream  of  prints  of  actors  and  geisha 

171 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


continued  as  before  through  Tempo.  But  for  us  the  great  event  of  this 
period  is  the  rise  to  fame  of  Hiroshige,  whose  finest  work  was  to  be 
published  during  these  years.  This  chapter  will  therefore  be  mainly 
concerned  with  Hiroshige's  landscapes. 

First,  however,  we  must  follow  Hokusai's  career.  After  1830,  when  he 
was  seventy-one  years  old,  he  produced  comparatively  few  colour-prints ; 
but  among  them  are  some  very  remarkable  designs. 

First  to  be  mentioned  are  a  set  of  kakemono-ye,  of  which  five  are  known, 
though  all  of  the  greatest  rarity.  These  five  are  :  A  Falcon  on  a  Perch  under 
Cherry  Blossom ;  Tortoises  under  Water ;  Carp  and  Waterfall ;  Two 
Cranes  ;  and  Horses.  These  are  designed  with  superb  bigness,  boldness, 
and  energy.  They  are  all  reproduced  in  the  Paris  V .  and  L  Catalogue . 

Another  set  of  five  are  fan-shaped  designs.  Two  of  these  (also  reproduced 
in  the  Paris  Catalogue)  are  of  cocks  and  hens,  and  are  masterpieces  of 
their  kind.  It  is  a  pity  that  these  prints  also  are  rare  in  the  extreme.  So, 
too,  is  a  set  of  small  landscapes  of  fishing  scenes,  a  little  later  in  date, 
which  are  of  great  beauty.  In  one  of  them  the  downward  rush  of  a  long 
wave  is  given  with  tremendous  force. 

One  of  the  prints  of  “  Cocks  and  Hens  "  is  dated  **  the  year  of  the  Sheep," 
i.e.  1835.  To  this  year  also  is  assigned,  by  de  Goncourt,  a  surimono  of  an 
old  fisherman  smoking  a  pipe  and  looking  up  at  the  moon,  which  is 
supposed  to  be  a  portrait  of  the  artist.  During  Bunsei  Hokusai  had  turned 
again  to  surimono  designing.  These  late  surimono  contrast  with  his  earlier 
ones  by  their  greater  force  of  colour  and  by  a  certain  angularity  of  manner 
derived  from  study  of  Chinese  work. 

But  Hokusai's  chief  work  during  Tempo  is  the  well-known  series  of 
prints  entitled  Hyakunin  Isshu  Ubaga  Yetoki,  “  The  Hundred  Poems 
explained  by  the  Nurse."  Only  twenty-seven  of  the  series  were  published, 
though  outline  designs  for  others  exist. 

This  series  does  not  rank  with  Hokusai's  greatest  work,  yet  it  contains 
many  beautiful  designs.  Just  as  Harunobu  and  others  of  the  older  masters 
had  invented  analogues  for  classic  themes  in  daily  life,  Hokusai  translates 
the  sentiment  of  the  poems  taken  from  the  classic  anthology  of  the 
“  Hundred  Poets  "  into  homelier  surroundings.  And  yet  this  is  not  quite 
a  true  description  ;  for  though  sometimes  the  original  sentiment  is  frankly 
parodied,  as  in  the  **  Yoshitake  "  (No.  50),  where  the  blissful  mood 
following  a  hot  bath  does  duty  for  the  first  ecstasy  of  love,  or  as  in  the 
“  Michinobu  "  (No.  52),  where  the  lover's  hatred  of  the  dawn  that  ends 
the  night  is  translated  into  the  boredom  of  coolies  and  /cago-bearers  starting 

172 


TEMPO  AND  KOKWA  PERIODS:  1830  TO  1848 

work  at  twilight — others  of  the  series  are  quite  seriously  conceived,  and 
some  are  direct  illustrations  of  the  poems,  like  the  beautiful  No.  5,  where 
women  listen  to  the  cry  of  the  stag  on  the  hill  on  an  autumn  evening. 
Hokusai's  way  of  treating  his  themes  is  exemplified  at  its  happiest  in  such 
prints  as  the  Toshiyuki  (No.  18).  The  poet  tells  how  shyly  even  his 
dreams  steal  to  his  Love,  shy  as  the  wave  in  the  darkness  steals  to  the 
shore  of  Suminoye  Bay.  The  print  shows  a  junk  with  full  sail  gliding 
past  the  coast,  with  a  sunset  flush  in  the  sky.  The  Nakamaro  (No.  7) 
directly  illustrates  the  poem  in  which  the  exiled  poet  gazes  at  the  moon 
and  wonders  that  it  can  be  the  same  moon  that  rises  on  the  hills  of  home  ; 
a  subject  already  treated  in  a  grander  design  in  the  Shika  Shashinkio . 
And  others  of  the  series  illustrate  the  poems  in  a  similar  way.  But  Hokusai 
is  generally  more  fortunate  when  he  relies  on  a  hint  or  allusion,  or  shifts 
the  emphasis,  so  that  another  theme  appears  to  replace  the  ostensible 
one. 

Perhaps  the  finest  of  the  series  is  the  Takamura  (No.  11),  where  women 
are  diving  for  awabi  from  rocks,  and  boats  rise  and  fall  on  the  swell  of  the 
sea.  This  beautiful  design  is  analysed  by  Sir  Charles  Holmes  in  the 
Burlington  Magazine  for  April,  1907,  where  it  is  reproduced  in  colours. 
The  poem,  uttering  the  farewell  of  the  poet  to  the  fisher-folk,  as  he  sails 
into  exile,  is  here  but  hinted  at.  Again,  the  Girls  gathering  Lotuses  in  a 
Boat  on  a  Pond  (No.  37),  a  favourite  print  with  collectors,  alludes  only 
indirectly  to  Asayasu's  poem  on  the  pearly  dew. 

There  is  a  fascination  of  strange  colour  in  some  of  these  prints,  with 
oppositions  of  dull  orange  or  chocolate  and  pale  blue-green,  more  subtle 
than  in  former  sets. 

Outline  designs  for  other  poems  exist ;  some  were  formerly  in  Dr. 
Ernest  Hart's  Collection,  and  two  are  in  the  British  Museum.  Recently 
Mr.  Shotaro  Sato  has  had  four  of  these  designs  cut  on  wood,  with  the 
addition  of  colour-blocks.  It  may  be  of  interest  to  record  these  prints, 
which  are  carefully  and  on  the  whole  successfully  executed.  They  are  : 
Sosei  Hoshi  (No.  21),  a  guide  with  torches  leading  the  poet  to  a  shrine 
by  moonlight;  Atsutada  (No.  43),  a  priestess  hammering  a  nail  into  a 
great  tree ;  Akazomeyemon  (No.  59),  a  lady  on  a  verandah  by  moonlight ; 
and  Masafusa  (No.  73),  cherry  blossom  on  a  hill-top,  and  holiday-makers. 

The  “  Hundred  Poems  "  virtually  closes  the  chapter  of  Hokusai's  colour- 
prints.  It  may  have  been  observed  that  since  the  Views  of  Fuji,  the 
Bridges  and  the  Waterfalls,  Hokusai  has  been  drawing  further  away  from 
Ukiyoye  proper ;  invading  more  and  more  the  classic  themes  of  art, 

173 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


though  always  intensely  original  and  entirely  himself.  He  has  his  own 
peculiar  convention,  unlike  anyone  else's,  for  drawing  everything  in  this 
Hokusai  world — rocks  and  trees,  men  and  birds  and  animals.  But  now 
we  are  to  accompany  the  progress  of  an  artist  of  very  different  temper, 
Hiroshige,  who  during  these  same  years  was  maturing  his  mastery  of 
landscape.  And  now  we  revert  to  a  more  truly  popular  art. 

Hiroshige's  original  genius  in  landscape  was  first  unmistakably  announced 
in  the  set  of  Toto  Meisho,  Views  of  the  Eastern  Capital,  published  by 
Kawaguchiya  Shozo  towards  the  end  of  Bunsei,  probably  about  1826. 
Before  this  he  had  made  figure-designs  of  little  distinction,  remarkable 
mostly  for  the  squat  proportions  of  the  figures  and  the  unattractive  types. 

The  T oto  Meisho  set  heralds  a  kind  of  landscape  which  was  new  alike  to 
Ukiyoye  and  to  Japanese  painting.  In  one  print  of  the  series,  the  “  Sun¬ 
rise  at  Suzaki,"  one  might  trace  a  superficial  influence  from  Hokusai,  but 
the  series  as  a  whole  reveals  an  essentially  different  mind  and  vision. 
Turner  and  Constable  at  the  other  end  of  the  world  were,  during  this 
same  period,  creating  landscape  masterpieces ;  and  if  Turner  resembles 
Hokusai  in  unwearied  fecundity,  in  passionate  emulation  of  the  masters 
of  the  past,  and  in  creative  reconstruction  of  what  nature  offered  him 
(the  differences  might,  of  course,  be  equally  emphasized),  Hiroshige 
resembles  Constable  in  freshness  and  integrity  of  eye,  in  his  profound 
affection  for  the  sight  and  scent  and  atmosphere  of  his  native  land. 

When  we  look  at  one  of  Hokusai's  landscapes,  we  are  exhilarated  by  his 
creative  energy,  the  novel  and  stimulating  shapes,  masses,  and  colours 
into  which  he  has  recast  his  world,  and  a  sort  of  dramatic  relation  between 
the  elements  of  his  design.  But  Hiroshige's  landscapes  absorb  us  into  a 
definite  local  atmosphere,  into  the  mists,  the  sunshine,  the  windy  clearness, 
the  rain,  the  rice-fields,  the  indented  coasts,  the  moonlight,  the  moun¬ 
tains,  of  Japan.  With  Hokusai  the  accidents  of  nature  are  an  occasion  for 
entertaining  novelty  of  composition ;  to  Hiroshige  they  are  dear  for  their 
own  sake.  In  this  early  Toto  Meisho  set  there  is  a  “  Ryogoku  Bridge,"  in 
which  the  wooden  piles  are  drawn  with  no  schematic  simplicity,  as 
Hokusai  would  have  drawn  them,  but  with  a  dwelling  on  their  knots  and 
seams  and  stains  of  weather,  not  only  on  the  lines  of  construction.  Take, 
again,  the  **  Full  Moon  at  Takanawa,"  with  the  wild  geese  flying  down  into 
the  foreground,  and  the  wide  curve  of  the  bay  beyond.  The  flight  of  the 
wild  geese  in  the  autumn  moonlight  is  a  motive  repeated  for  centuries  in 
Japanese  painting ;  but  how  freshly  Hiroshige  uses  it !  There  is  nothing 
of  the  deftness  of  strokes  learnt  by  heart,  like  a  writing-lesson,  that  we 

174 


TEMPO  AND  KOKWA  PERIODS:  1830  TO  1848 

find  in  countless  pictures  of  the  other  schools ;  it  is  all  felt  and  seen,  the 
irregular  hurrying  motion  of  the  birds  following  each  other  with  necks 
outstretched.  This  rare  set  of  prints  is  marked  by  red  zigzag  streaks  of 
cloud  in  the  skies,  making  a  curious  sort  of  pattern. 

Some  minor  landscape  sets,  including  two  of  Omi  Hakkei,  followed, 
before  the  artist  changed  the  Ichiyusai  of  his  name  to  Ichiryusai. 

In  the  early  years  of  Tempo,  about  1832-1834,  Hiroshige  published  a 
number  of  Kwa-cho ,  or  Flower  and  Bird  pieces,  mostly  in  the  shape  of 
the  narrow  upright  slips  called  tanzaku.  Attractive  and  graceful  as  these 
are,  they  cannot  compare  for  delicacy  or  firmness  of  design  with  Koryusai's 
or  Utamaro's  handling  of  such  subjects  ;  they  resemble  the  clever  paintings 
of  the  Shijo  school.  On  a  larger  scale  is  the  celebrated  **  Bow  Moon,"  an 
original  and  beautiful  composition,  and  its  companion-piece  (no  others 
of  the  series  of  **  Twenty-eight  Moonlight  Views  "  are  known),  the  moon 
seen  through  maple  leaves  drifting  down  across  a  waterfall. 

But  it  is  in  pure  landscape  portraiture  that  Hiroshige's  peculiar  genius 
finds  its  true  material. 

In  the  early  spring  of  1834  there  was  published  by  Hoyeido  in  two 
volumes  the  famous  first  Tokaido  set,  which  immensely  enhanced  Hiro¬ 
shige's  fame.  A  copy  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Hirose  Kikuo  is  unique, 
so  far  as  is  known  at  present,  in  containing  a  preface  written  by  Yomo  no 
Takimizu  in  the  1st  month  (9th  February  to  9th  March)  of  Tempo  5 
(1834).  The  fifty-five  prints  had  been  issued  as  separate  sheets  before 
this,  and  their  publication  was  probably  spread  over  the  year  1833.  44  Early 
in  Tempo,"  we  are  told,  the  artist  went  to  Kyoto  by  the  great  coast-road 
called  the  Tokaido.  It  was  in  some  minor  official  capacity  that  he  joined 
the  retinue  of  a  mission  from  the  Shogun  escorting  a  horse  which  was 
being  sent  as  a  present  to  the  Mikado.  On  this  leisurely  journey  he  made 
innumerable  sketches  ;  and  after  his  return  to  Yedo  he  selected  from 
these  the  series  of  designs  engraved  and  printed  to  illustrate  each  of  the 
fifty-three  posting-stations  along  the  route,  with  one  for  the  starting-point 
at  Nihonbashi  and  another  for  the  terminus  at  Kyoto. 

The  enduring  charm  of  this  famous  series  lies,  not  in  an  array  of  master¬ 
pieces,  but  in  the  candour  and  freshness  of  vision  by  which  they  are 
inspired.  There  is  an  engaging  sort  of  clumsiness  about  some  of  the 
compositions,  and  in  all  of  them  a  complete  absence  of  the  callous  clever¬ 
ness  into  which  the  old  traditions  of  Ukiyo-ye  had  sunk.  Once  again  it 
seems  as  if  Ukiyo-ye,  in  this  new  field  of  art,  had  renewed  its  youth.  The 
Shono  (No.  46),  with  its  rows  of  tall  trees  on  a  ridge  tossing  phantasmal 

175 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


in  the  rain,  is  admittedly  the  masterpiece  of  the  series ;  but  there  is  an 
even  more  intimate  charm  in  some  of  those  less  striking  scenes  of  lowland 
and  prairie,  or  wide  prospects  at  the  fords  of  shallow  rivers,  breezy  with 
wind  or  sunny  with  melting  haze.  And  everywhere  there  is  the  sense  of 
social  life  and  intercourse  on  the  great  highroad,  the  true  note  of  Ukiyo-ye. 
One  marvels,  too,  at  the  delicacy  of  atmosphere,  the  sensitiveness  to 
changing  light  and  weather,  which  are  communicated  by  such  simple 
means.  Truly  Hiroshige  owed  much  to  his  wood-cutters  and  still  more 
to  his  printers,  who,  by  grading  the  colours  on  the  blocks,  were  able  to 
achieve  these  hitherto  unknown  effects.  But  the  point  must  be  emphasized 
that  the  quality  of  these  landscapes,  just  because  of  the  subtleties  of  tone, 
can  only  be  appreciated  in  fine  early  impressions,  which,  alas  !  are  but 
seldom  to  be  found. 

Six  or  more  of  the  blocks  of  the  early  part  of  the  series  seem  to  have  been 
destroyed,  perhaps  by  fire,  and  others  were  substituted,  with  in  some 
cases  considerable  changes.  The  reasons  for  these  variations  are  im¬ 
possible  to  discover,  as  they  are  not  improvements.  And  it  is  puzzling  to 
find  in  the  44  Odawara  "  (No.  io),  for  instance,  that  the  character  of  the 
distant  hills  is  quite  altered  ;  instead  of  being  sharp -edged  and  facetted, 
like  bits  of  quartz,  in  a  manner  characteristic  of  Hiroshige's  earlier 
mountain  drawing,  they  are  smooth  and  rounded. 

The  success  of  this  series  was  so  resounding  that  the  artist  was  called  on 
later  to  publish  many  more  Tokaido  sets,  founded  no  doubt  on  the 
surplus  of  sketches  made  upon  his  journey ;  but  none  of  the  later  sets 
approaches  the  first  in  closeness  and  intimacy  of  delineation. 

Meanwhile  other  sets  followed  rapidly.  First  probably  in  date,  perhaps 
in  the  course  of  1834,  comes  the  Kyoto  Meisho .  In  this  set  is  the  well- 
known  44  Passenger-boat  on  the  Yodo  River,"  with  a  cuckoo  flying  across 
the  moon.  This  is  very  typical  of  Hiroshige ;  the  passengers,  far  from 
being  sentimentalized,  are  shown  busily  eating  and  talking,  while  above 
them  is  the  calm  broad  moon  flooding  the  hazy  water  with  its  beauty. 
There  is  no  note  of  irony  ;  all  is  accepted  ;  but  the  contrast  enhances  the 
enchantment  of  the  summer  night,  and  just  the  upturned  head  of  the 
boatman  poling  on  the  prow,  as  he  looks  up  at  bird  and  moon,  connects 
the  silence  of  nature  with  the  human  creatures  so  absorbed  in  their  own 
affairs. 

The  44  Omi  Hakkei,"  which  may  date  from  the  following  year,  1835,  is 
in  a  different  vein  from  any  previous  work.  Here  is  an  “  ampler  ether,"  a 
loftier  sentiment,  the  appreciation  of  great  solitudes  and  spaces. 

176 


TEMPO  AND  KOKWA  PERIODS:  1830  TO  1848 

Though  individual  prints  from  other  sets  surpass  it,  this  set  as  a  whole 
ranks,  perhaps,  above  all  others.  The  “Karasaki  Pine  Tree”  in  a  vertical 
downpour  of  rain,  all  tones  of  blue  and  grey,  is  wonderfully  conceived. 
The  **  Evening  Snow  on  Mount  Hira,”  all  white,  black,  and  grey  with  a 
lake  of  vivid  blue,  is  unsurpassed  among  Hiroshige's  mountain-scenes. 
There  is  a  clear  transparency,  a  breadth  and  sharpness  of  vision,  a  unity 
and  completeness,  in  these  prints  which  give  them  a  place  apart  in  the 
master's  work. 

The  Yedo  Kinko  Hakkei ,  Eight  Views  in  the  Environs  of  Yedo,  is  in 
Hiroshige's  more  personal  and  intimate  style,  and  again  is  a  set  that  ranks 
very  high  indeed.  From  Mr.  Watanabe's  catalogue  of  the  Hiroshige 
Memorial  Exhibition,  held  at  Tokyo  in  1918,  we  learn  that  these  prints 
were  commissioned  by  a  poet  named  Taihaido,  who  with  other  poetizing 
friends  chose  the  subjects  and  had  their  verses  printed  on  the  views.  The 
set  was  afterwards  reprinted  with  one  verse  only  on  each  print.  The 
lovely  **  Autumn  Moon  on  the  Tamagawa,”  with  a  solitary  willow  on  the 
bank,  is  the  crowning  glory  of  this  set.  It  is,  indeed,  exquisite  in  feeling, 
and  of  all  Hiroshige's  many  moonlight  scenes  the  most  enchanting.  It  is 
one  of  the  classic  landscapes  of  Ukiyo-ye.  Of  extraordinary  beauty,  too, 
is  the  “Azuma  no  Mori,”  where,  under  the  slanting  rain,  that  drenches 
field  and  tree,  travellers  move  along  a  raised  causeway.  It  is  a  scene  that 
in  nature  most  of  us  would  call  dreary ;  but  Hiroshige  seems  to  feel  the 
rain  as  the  trees  feel  it,  drinking  it  into  their  fibres  with  a  kind  of  patient 
ecstasy,  though  perhaps  our  chief  satisfaction  comes  from  the  beauty  and 
the  unobtruded  originality  of  the  composition. 

Of  Views  of  Yedo,  under  various  titles,  Toto  Meisho,  Yedo  Meisho,  Koto 
Meisho ,  there  is  such  a  multitude  of  sets,  dating  from  1833  to  1843,  that  it 
is  impossible  to  keep  count  of  them.  We  can  only  mention  as  of  special 
note  such  prints  as  the  **  Kameido  Shrine  in  Snow,”  often  reproduced, 
and  the  beautiful  “  White  Rain  on  Nihonbashi,”  from  a  Toto  Meisho  set 
published  by  Sanoki. 

Of  Honcho  Meisho,  Views  of  the  Main  Island,  fifteen  prints  are  known. 
Here  are  some  prints  with  a  new  note  of  grandeur  and  solemnity,  especially 
the  impressive  44  Approach  to  Akiba  Temple,”  where  pilgrims  go  up  the 
steep  path  between  giant  tree  stems,  and  the  tops  of  tall  trees  are  seen 
rising  from  below  against  the  mountain-side.  This  print  is  reproduced  in 
colour  in  the  Paris  V.I.  Catalogue,  Plate  LXX.  It  is  interesting  to  find  a 
sketch  for  this  design  in  one  of  the  five  sketch-books  by  Hiroshige  in  the 
British  Museum  (formerly  in  the  Arthur  Morrison  Collection),  which 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


contain  many  notes  of  landscape  detail  and  a  certain  number  of  sketch- 
designs  for  complete  compositions. 

This  sense  of  grandeur  and  solemnity  is  felt  also  in  certain  sheets  of  the 
Kiso  Kaidd  set,  which  was  published  somewhere  about  1839,  though  the 
publication  of  the  separate  sheets  was,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Tokaido  set, 
spread  over  a  considerable  time,  probably  three  or  four  years.  The  Kiso 
Kaido  was  the  alternative  route,  by  the  mountains,  between  the  two 
capitals ;  there  were  sixty-nine  posting-stations,  and  the  complete  series 
of  prints  contains  seventy  sheets.  Of  these,  twenty-three  were  designed 
by  Yeisen,  forty-seven  by  Hiroshige.  Here  again  a  number  of  changes 
were  made  in  certain  of  the  blocks.  The  first  eleven  numbers  are  all  the 
work  of  Yeisen.  There  are  many  prints  of  little  interest  in  this  series,  but 
a  selection  from  it  would  contain  some  of  Hiroshige's  greatest  works. 
Yeisen's  work  is  competent  and  occasionally  attractive;  but  most  of  his 
prints  suffer  from  misplaced  emphasis  and  lack  of  duly  subordinated  detail. 
This  is  just  where  Hiroshige's  finest  contributions  to  the  series  excel  by 
contrast.  We  find  a  breadth  and  solidity  of  design,  a  reliance  on  planned 
masses,  which  we  have  seldom  found  before  in  his  work ;  in  the  **  Oi," 
for  example — two  travellers  on  horses  in  the  snow  between  two  great 
pines — which  rivals  Hokusai  in  largeness  of  conception ;  or  in  the  white 
hill-masses  of  the  **  Wada."  And  in  the  huge  pine  avenue  of  the  u  Mochi- 
zuki,"  sombre  in  blue  dusk  with  the  moon  rising  beyond  it,  there  is 
that  sense  of  grandeur  we  have  spoken  of,  allied  to  a  sense  of  mystery. 
Again,  we  have  designs  in  which  a  broad  silhouette  of  shapes  is  the  central 
feature  ;  as  in  the  rain-blotted  “  Suwara  "  with  figures  dark  against  wet 
mist,  or  the  silhouette  of  trees  in  the  misty  moonlight  of  the  “  Miyano- 
koshi."  More  beautiful  than  these  is  the  “  Nagakubo,"  reproduced  in 
colour  on  Plate  16  of  this  book.  There  is  another  state  of  the  print  in 
which  there  is  a  distant  range  of  hills  behind  the  figures  on  the  bridge. 
This  has  been  sometimes  described  as  the  first  state.  But  if  one  com¬ 
pares  the  two  states,  one  sees  that  in  the  one  which  we  reproduce 
(without  the  range  of  hills)  the  further  rail  of  the  bridge  is  very  subtly 
indicated,  a  delicate  detail  slurred  and  submerged  in  the  other  state, 
which  is  the  state,  moreover,  in  which  the  print  is  commonly  found. 
Of  misty  moonlight  scenes  this  is  Hiroshige's  masterpiece.  Another 
exquisite  moonlight  scene,  clear  and  windy,  is  the  **  Semba,"  approaching, 
but  not  quite  rivalling,  the  “  Autumn  Moon  on  the  Tamagawa  "  of  the 
Yedo  Kinko  Hakkei  set.  These  prints,  and  one  or  two  others,  notably 
the  u  Shinmachi,"  with  its  dark  trees  on  a  river  bank  against  a  yellow 

178 


TEMPO  AND  KOKWA  PERIODS:  1830  TO  1848 

twilight,  make  up  an  array  of  landscapes  of  peculiar  impressiveness  and 
charm. 

Of  about  the  same  date  is  yet  another  set  of  Eight  Views,  the  very 
rare  and  much-prized  Kanazawa  Hakkei ,  containing  one  of  the  most 
wonderful  of  Hiroshige's  scenes  of  drenching  rain,  “  Evening  Rain  at 
Koizumi." 

Probably  to  the  same  time  we  may  assign  the  two  famous  kakemono -ye,  the 
“  Kiso  Gorge  in  Snow,"  and  the  “  Monkey  Bridge."  Mr.  Watanabe 
places  the  former  of  these  much  earlier,  in  the  year  1832  ;  but  the  signa¬ 
tures  appear  to  be  of  the  same  time.  The  “  Monkey  Bridge  "  is  especially 
admired ;  and  if  the  treatment  of  the  chafing  ruffled  water  is  rather 
perfunctory,  it  is  a  fine  composition. 

About  1840,  according  to  Mr.  Watanabe,  ten  prints  of  Fishes  were 
published,  ten  others  having  been  issued  earlier  at  the  same  time  as  the 
first  Tokaido  set. 

In  April  of  1841  Hiroshige  left  Yedo  for  a  tour  in  the  province  of  Kai, 
returning  in  November  of  the  same  year.  His  journal  of  this  tour  is  in  a 
private  collection  in  Tokyo. 

In  1842  was  issued  the  sumptuary  edict  prohibiting  the  publication  of 
prints  of  actors  and  courtesans,  and  limiting  the  number  of  blocks.  The 
censors'  seals  now  appear  on  the  prints.  An  added  stimulus  was  thus 
given  to  the  designing  of  landscapes,  also  of  heroic  and  legendary  subjects. 

As  far  as  the  production  of  actor-prints  and  bijin-ye  is  concerned,  the 
prints  of  this  period,  down  to  1842,  are  negligible.  Yeizan  had  retired 
before  the  beginning  of  Tempo,  and  the  field  was  left  to  Kunisada,  Kdsotei 
Toyokuni,  and  other  pupils  of  Toyokuni  I,  and  Yeisen.  But  Yeisen's 
best  work  is  not  to  be  found  in  his  figure-designs ;  it  is  rather  in  prints  of 
falcons,  landscapes,  and  especially  one  or  two  kakemono-ye,  of  which  the 
“  Carp  Leaping  up  a  Waterfall "  and  the  “  Mountain  Landscape "  are 
celebrated. 

Another  fine  kakemono-ye  of  a  carp  was  made,  perhaps  in  emulation,  by 
Kuniyoshi.  This  artist  had  first  become  known  through  some  triptychs 
issued  about  1820.  His  early  actor-prints  were  unsuccessful.  In  1827  he 
produced  some  prints  of  **  Heroes  of  the  Suikoden,"  a  Chinese  romance 
popularized  in  Japan  by  the  novelist  Baiun.  These  made  a  hit,  and 
Kuniyoshi  was  encouraged  to  publish  a  set  of  **  One  Hundred  and  Eight 
Heroes."  These  are  melodramatic  and  sensational  in  conception,  but 
tremendously  vigorous  both  in  line  and  colour.  During  Tempo  he  turned 
his  attention  more  to  the  heroic  episodes  in  Japanese  history,  and  during 


179 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


the  period  of  strict  censorship,  1842-1853,  became  the  pre-eminent 
master  in  this  field. 

A  set  of  Hyakwiin  Isshii ,  the  Hundred  Poets,  contains  some  fine  designs, 
especially  where  the  landscape  element  is  strong,  and  the  colouring  is  often 
original.  Among  single  sheets  may  be  mentioned  the  **  Flight  of  Tokiwa  " 
through  the  snow,  from  a  series  called  Kenjo  Reppuden,  and  u  Kidomaru  in 
Ambush/'  an  oblong  print.  But  perhaps  the  finest  set  by  Kuniyoshi 
produced  during  this  period  is  the  Nichiren  series,  a  set  of  ten  scenes  from 
the  life  of  the  famous  Buddhist  saint  and  reformer  Nichiren.  The  last  of 
these  scenes,  showing  the  exiled  Nichiren  toiling  alone  up  a  hill-side  in 
the  fast-falling  snow,  is  justly  famous  and  has  been  often  reproduced. 
Few  prints  in  all  Ukiyo-ye  have  so  much  emotional  and  imaginative  quality. 
There  are  two  states  of  this  print,  one  with  a  horizon-line  to  the  sea,  the 
other  without.  Whichever  is  the  earlier,  the  state  without  this  line,  and 
with  the  sea  melting  into  snow-filled  sky,  is  certainly  to  be  preferred.  Here 
again  the  landscape  element  is  the  main  part  of  the  design  ;  and  it  is  to  be 
regretted  that  Kuniyoshi  did  not  make  more  landscape  prints.  The  few 
that  he  produced  are  so  fine  that  they  are  comparable  with  Hiroshige's 
best.  The  “  Anglers  on  the  Rocks  "  and  the  “  Shower  on  the  Banks  of 
the  Sumida  "  are  admirable  prints  ;  but  the  most  beautiful  is  the  “  Sea¬ 
weed  Gatherers  at  Omori,"  which  both  in  feeling  and  in  composition  is  a 
masterpiece. 

Even  Kunisada,  with  whose  figure-designs,  for  all  his  undeniable  talent, 
one  is  so  easily  surfeited,  could  rise  to  greatness  in  landscape ;  and  we 
could  wish  that  his  beautiful  and  rare  print  of  “  Autumn  Maples,"  so 
splendid  in  its  colour,  and  the  one  or  two  other  landscapes  he  produced, 
had  more  companions. 

During  this  period  Kuniyoshi  began  a  great  series  of  triptychs  of  heroic 
subjects,  but  as  these  were  continued  into  the  next  period  we  will,  for 
convenience'  sake,  speak  of  them  in  the  following  chapter. 


180 


CHAPTER  XI 

FROM  KAYE  I  TO  MEIJI  13 

FEBRUARY  5th,  1848,  TO  JANUARY  29TH,  1881 


CHAPTER  XI 


FROM  KAYE  I  TO  MEIJI  13 

FEBRUARY  5TH,  1848,  TO  JANUARY  29TH,  1881 

Upon  the  death  of  Hokusai  in  1849,  the  fortunes  of  the  Ukiyoye  school 
rested  almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  Utagawa  artists,  Toyokuni  III, 
Kuniyoshi,  and  Hiroshige  I,  and  in  those  of  their  pupils,  some  of  whom 
have  already  been  mentioned.  As  regards  the  remainder,  the  following 
are  selected  as  the  most  noteworthy  of  those  who  practised  in  Yedo  during 
the  present  periods. 

Pupils  of  the  third  Toyokuni  {formerly  Kunisada  /). 

Kuniaki  I,  family  name  Hirazawa,  worked  from  about  1850  to  i860. 
His  younger  brother  Onosaburo,  who  called  himself  Ipposai  or  Hosai 
Kuniaki  II,  was  chiefly  noted  for  prints  of  wrestlers. 

Kuniteru  II  was  born  in  1830,  his  real  name  being  Okada  Tdjiro.  His 
first  brush-name  was  Sadashige.  Died  in  1874. 

Kunisada  II  was  born  in  1823,  and  at  first  signed  his  prints  u  Baido 
Kunimasa  III/'  or  **  Kunimasa,  pupil  of  Kochoro."  In  1852  he  married 
his  teacher's  eldest  daughter  and  received  the  name  of  Baichoro  Kuni¬ 
sada  II.  He  died  in  1880. 

Kunihisa,  who  used  the  go  of  Ichiryusai,  Ipposai,  and  Ichiunsai,  married 
his  teacher's  third  daughter.  He  was  the  first  male  artist  of  this  name, 
and  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  female  pupils  of  the  first  and  second 
Toyokuni. 

Kunichika  was  born  in  1836  and  lived  well  into  the  Meiji  era.  He  used 
the  go  of  Ichiosai,  but  not  the  school  name  of  Utagawa.  Before  becoming 
a  pupil  of  the  third  Toyokuni  he  had  studied  under  Kano  Chikanobu. 

Harumasa,  though  not  listed  as  a  pupil  of  Kunisada,  appears  from  his 
prints  to  have  come  under  his  direct  influence.  He  worked  during  1840 
to  1852  approximately,  designing  but  few  prints. 

Pupils  of  Kuniyoshi . 

Yoshikazu,  who  used  the  go  of  Ichikawa  and  Ichijusai,  was  at  work 
from  about  1850  to  1870. 

Yoshi-iku  worked  at  the  same  time,  using  the  go  of  Ikkeisai  and  Chokaro, 
and  later  that  of  Keisai. 

Yoshitora,  who  used  the  go  of  Ichimosai  and  Kinchoro,  and  after  1874 
that  of  Mosai,  worked  from  about  1850  to  1880. 

183 


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Yoshifuji,  whose  real  name  was  Nichimura  Fujitaro,  used  the  go  of 
Ittosai  and  Ipposai,  working  about  the  same  time  as  the  above ;  as  did 
also  Yoshiharu,  whose  go  were  Ichibaisai  and  Chokaro. 

Yoshitsuya,  whose  real  name  was  Kdko  Mankichi,  was  born  in  1822,  and 
entered  Kuniyoshi's  studio  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  receiving  his  diploma 
when  seventeen  years  old.  He  used  the  go  of  Ichiyeisai.  He  died  in 
1866. 

Yoshitsuru,  whose  personal  name  was  Chojiro,  used  the  go  of  Isseisai. 
He  was  a  fellow-student  with  Yoshitsuya  about  1834,  and  died  at  the  early 
age  of  thirty-three.  His  work  extends  from  about  1835  to  1855. 

Yoshitoyo  was  born  in  1830,  his  real  name  being  Fukuyama  Kanekichi. 
He  first  studied  under  the  third  Toyokuni,  and  then  under  Kuniyoshi ; 
hence  his  brush-name  of  Yoshi  and  Toyo.  He  used  the  go  of  Ichirytisai. 
He  died  in  1866. 

Yoshimori,  whose  real  name  was  Miki  Sakusd,  was  born  in  1831,  and 
entered  Kuniyoshi's  studio  at  an  early  age.  He  died  in  1885. 

Yoshihiro,  whose  personal  name  was  Jubei,  was  born  in  1838.  As  a 
child  of  six  he  used  to  amuse  himself  by  drawing  figures,  birds,  and 
flowers,  and  at  the  age  of  thirteen  became  Kuniyoshi's  pupil,  and  was 
skilful  when  but  fourteen  years  old,  when  he  received  his  diploma.  He 
used  the  go  of  Itchosai.  He  died  in  1884. 

Yoshinobu,  the  last  character  being  different  from  the  former  pupil  of 
the  same  name  already  mentioned,  was  born  in  1838,  his  personal  name 
being  Yasaburo.  In  his  early  years  he  studied  under  the  first  Hiroshige, 
and  when  eighteen  entered  the  studio  of  Kuniyoshi.  He  used  the  go  of 
Ichiunsai.  He  died  in  1890. 

Yoshitoshi  was  born  in  1839,  and  was  adopted  when  a  child  by  the 
Tsukioka  family  and  was  called  Tsukioka  Yonejiro.  He  used  several  go, 
chiefly  Ikkwaisai,  Kwaisai,  and  Taiso.  He  became  Kuniyoshi's  pupil  in 
the  autumn  of  1850,  but  does  not  appear  to  have  produced  prints  till  some 
ten  years  later.  He  died  in  1892. 

Pupils  of  Hiroshige  L 

Hiroshige  II,  whose  dates  of  birth  and  death  are  unknown,  was  first 
called  Shigenobu,  and  later  Ichiyusai  Shigenobu.  He  was  adopted  by  his 
teacher,  after  whose  death  he  signed  for  a  short  period  “  the  second 
Hiroshige,"  and  more  rarely  **  Ichiryusai  Hiroshige."  In  1865  he  retired 
to  Yokohama,  when  he  called  himself  Rissho  and  Hirochika  II.  He  worked 
from  about  1839  to  1864. 


184 


KAYE  I  PERIOD  TO  MEIJI  13:  1848  TO  1881 


Hiroshige  III,  whose  real  name  was  Ando  Tokubei,  was  an  adopted  son 
of  his  master,  from  whom  he  received  the  brush-name  of  Shigemasa. 
He  was  born  in  1843,  and  died  in  1894  at  the  age  of  fifty-two.  Upon 
the  retirement  of  the  second  Hiroshige  to  Yokohama  he  styled  himself 
Hiroshige  II,  though  in  reality  the  third. 

Hirokage,  whose  biography  is  unknown,  worked  from  about  1851  to 
1866. 

Other  print  designers  of  this  epoch  were  Sugakudo,  Fusatane,  Kyosai, 
and  Kiyochika. 

Sugakudo  is  chiefly  known  by  a  set  of  Flower  and  Bird  studies  which 
are  seal-dated  1859. 

Fusatane's  biography  is  unknown.  He  used  the  go  of  Isshosai  and 
worked  from  about  1849  to  1859. 

Kyosai,  whose  real  name  was  Kawanabe  To-iku,  was  born  in  1831. 
While  yet  a  child  he  entered  Kuniyoshi's  studio,  v/here  he  remained  but 
a  short  time.  He  received  most  of  his  training  from  Kano  Tohaku,  and 
finally  formed  his  own  style.  His  early  work  is  signed  **  Chikamaro,” 
which  name  he  used  till  the  middle  of  1863.  He  was  addicted  to  drinking 
sake,  and  is  said  to  have  done  his  best  work  when  under  its  influence. 
Many  of  his  prints  are  signed  “  Shojo  (the  drunkard)  Kyosai.”  He  died 
in  1889. 

Kiyochika  was  born  in  1847.  He  belonged  to  the  military  class,  being 
the  seventh  son  of  a  retainer  of  the  Tokugawa  family  named  Kobayashi 
Chobei.  As  a  boy  he  took  a  liking  to  Ukiyo-ye ;  and  when  as  a  young 
man  he  had  to  join  the  forces  of  the  Shogunate  during  the  wars  of  1867- 
1868,  actually  taking  part  in  the  engagements  at  Fushimi  and  Toba  in  the 
latter  year,  he  would  spend  his  spare  moments  in  studying  the  various 
styles  of  the  artists  of  that  school.  In  1869  he  commenced  his  artistic 
career  by  illustrating  the  Iroha  newspaper  and  continued  in  this  occupa¬ 
tion  for  some  years.  He  began  to  design  for  prints  about  1876,  and 
continued  to  do  so  until  his  death  at  the  close  of  1915. 

In  1852  Hiroshige  again  left  Yedo,  early  in  February,  and  made  a  tour  in 
the  provinces  of  Awa  and  Kasusa,  returning  in  April.  He  made  yet 
another  tour — his  last — in  1854  to  inspect  the  rivers  which  cross  the 
Tokaido  ;  and  the  journals  of  both  these  tours  are  in  private  collections 
in  Tokyo. 

During  Kokwa  (1844-1848)  and  the  first  four  years  of  Kayei  (1848-1854), 
he  had  been  supplying  various  publishers  in  Yedo  with  an  immense  amount 

185 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


of  prints,  mostly  Views  of  Yedo,  Tokaido  sets,  or  views  in  various  provinces. 
Among  them  may  be  specially  mentioned  the  fine  Tokaido  set  published 
by  Marusei.  In  some  of  these  sets  the  figures  are  as  important  as  the 
landscapes  ;  for  Hiroshige  did  not  confine  himself  to  landscape,  and 
during  Tempo  had  published  a  Chushingura  set  in  sixteen  sheets  and  a 
set  of  ten  scenes  from  the  life  of  the  great  national  hero,  Yoshitsune.  A 
very  rare  and  remarkable  set  of  six  (or  more)  prints  called  Waka  Royei  Shu , 
contains  the  “  Rocks  in  a  Moonlit  Lake/'  which  we  reproduce  (Plate  44). 
It  illustrates  a  couplet  by  the  Chinese  poet  Liu  Yii-hsi  (772-842  A.D.),  from 
a  poem  called  **  Afloat  in  Ships  ''  : 

“  The  mountain  rises  straight  as  a  screen  ;  the  river  is  level  as  a  mat . 

Plucking  the  strings,  we  come  and  go  in  the  brightness  of  the  moon's  light." 

(Translated  by  Mr.  Arthur  Waley.)  The  Waka  Royei  Shu  was  a  com¬ 
pilation  of  Chinese  verses  and  couplets,  by  Chinese  and  Japanese  poets, 
set  to  music.  It  was  made  by  Fujiwara  no  Kinto  (966-1041  a.d.).  Japanese 
uta  were  added  to  it  later.  Another  of  this  set  is  a  huge  pine  tree  towering 
up  into  mist.  These  prints  are  full  of  poetry.  They  are  notable  also  as 
being  among  the  earliest  of  Hiroshige's  upright  compositions.  Before 
this,  all  the  great  sets  of  landscape  prints,  apart  from  kakemono-ye,  had 
been  oblong  designs.  But  from  1853  to  his  death  in  1858  Hiroshige 
preferred  the  upright  shape. 

This  change  seems  to  coincide  with  a  change  of  style,  though  really  there 
is  no  sudden  transition.  The  three  great  sets  in  the  upright  shape,  pro¬ 
duced  in  these  last  years,  do,  however,  offer  a  marked  difference  from  the 
first  Tokaido  and  other  famous  early  sets  in  the  oblong  shape.  And  this 
difference  has  led  some  critics  to  surmise  that  the  Sixty  Provinces,  Hundred 
Views  of  Yedo,  and  Thirty-six  Views  of  Fuji  are  not  really  by  the  master, 
but  by  the  second  Hiroshige.  Mr.  Strange  took  this  view  in  his  Japanese 
Colour-Prints ,  and  in  the  Paris  V.I.  Catalogue  M.  Vignier  has  revived  the 
theory,  but  in  a  more  drastic  form,  for  he  would  add  not  only  these  sets, 
but  some  earlier  prints  like  those  of  the  Kis5  Kaido  to  the  work  of  a 
mysterious  second  Hiroshige,  while  the  acknowledged  Hiroshige  II  is 
degraded  to  Hiroshige  III. 

These  reconstructions  from  the  evidence  of  an  artist's  works,  in  dis¬ 
regard  of  other  evidence,  are  always  dangerous.  We  may  recall  from  the 
history  of  Italian  painting  the  case  of  Bonifazio.  At  first  there  was 
a  single  master ;  then  two  were  invented  :  Bonifazio  Veneziano  and 
Bonifazio  Veronese.  Then  Morelli,  with  his  detective  criticism,  deduced 

186 


KAYE  I  PERIOD  TO  MEIJI  13:  1848  TO  1881 

from  the  actual  paintings  that  there  were  not  two  but  three  Bonifazios. 
And  finally  an  Austrian  archivist  showed  from  documents  that  there  were 
neither  two  nor  three,  but  one  single  painter  after  all.  We  have  only  to 
read  the  preface  published  with  the  contents  of  the  Thirty-six  Views  of 
Fuji  to  be  sure  that  Hiroshige  claimed  these  as  his  own  work.  u  One 
day,"  we  read,  “  Hiroshige  came  to  the  publisher  with  Thirty-six  Views 
of  Fuji,  which  he  said  were  his  last  work  and  asked  him  to  engrave  them. 
It  was  the  beginning  of  last  autumn,  and  at  the  close  of  the  autumn  he  died, 
aged  sixty- two." 

It  is,  of  course,  true  that  this  and  the  other  two  sets  produced  in  Ansei 
period  are  inferior  to  the  master's  earlier  work.  They  lack  the  sensitively 
scrupulous  quality  and  regard  for  structure  which  we  associate  with  the 
first  Tokaido  set  and  its  companions,  and  replace  it  by  a  more  fluent 
picturesqueness.  But  could  we  expect  that  an  artist  so  exuberantly 
productive  would  not  change,  or  not  deteriorate  in  some  respect  i  The 
facile  and  sometimes  flimsy  compositions  of  Corot's  old  age  lack  the  austere 
delicacy  and  precision  of  his  early  work,  but  we  have  not  yet  learnt  to 
invent  a  Corot  the  Second.  Or  take  Toyokuni :  what  a  contrast  between 
his  early  and  his  late  prints  !  M.  Vignier  relies  on  the  change  in  the 
signature  :  Toyokuni's  signature  changes  even  more.  No  doubt  Hiroshige 
was  latterly  helped  by  pupils ;  also  he  made  prints  from  other  men's  sketches 
to  illustrate  views  in  provinces  where  he  had  never  been.  But  his  own 
way  of  seeing  and  drawing  and  composing  altered  too ;  and  there  is  no 
question  that  none  of  the  prints  of  the  Ansei  period  can  really  compare 
with  the  great  landscapes  of  his  prime. 

Nevertheless,  there  are  many  charming  prints  in  the  Sixty  Provinces  set, 
which  Koshibei  began  to  publish  in  1853,  and  continued  to  publish  after 
the  artist's  death,  up  to  1865.  The  Hundred  Views  of  Yedo  were  pub¬ 
lished  from  1856  to  1858.  This  set  contains  even  finer  things,  such  as  the 
snowy  coast-scene  with  the  swooping  eagle,  the  Shower  on  Ohashi  Bridge, 
the  Fireworks  at  Ryogoku  Bridge  (in  its  first  state),  and  the  Fire-breathing 
Foxes  on  a  starry  night,  though  a  certain  number  of  the  prints  are 
downright  bad,  with  forced  motives  and  unhappily  capricious  designs, 
and  many  are  uninteresting — as,  indeed,  are  many  of  the  earlier  oblong 
prints. 

The  “  Thirty-six  Views  of  Fuji,"  Hiroshige's  last  set,  show  a  decided 
falling  off  in  vigour  and  inspiration.  From  the  preface,  quoted  above,  we 
learn  that  the  artist  often  talked  of  giving  up  painting  rather  than  see  his 
brush  lose  its  power  as  age  crept  on  him ;  and  this  points  to  a  secret 

187 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


consciousness  of  impaired  vitality,  though  probably,  like  most  artists, 
Hiroshige  had  a  fondness  for  his  latest  offspring. 

In  1857  Tsutaya  Kichizo  published  the  three  famous  triptychs,  “  Naruto 
Rapids,"  the  **  Moonlight  on  Kanazawa,"  and  the  u  Mountains  and 
Streams  of  the  Kisoji."  And  though  even  these  have  not  all  the  interior 
beauty  of  the  earlier  masterpieces,  they  are  well  worthy  of  Hiroshige's 
genius  and  rank  high  among  his  works. 

The  death  of  Hokusai  in  1849  had  left  Hiroshige,  with  Kunisada  and 
Kuniyoshi,  paramount  in  Ukiyo-ye.  Kunisada,  during  Ansei,  produced  a 
series  of  diptychs  illustrating  the  Romance  of  Genji,  which,  coarse  in 
type  as  they  are  compared  with  Yeishi's  triptychs  on  the  same  theme, 
are  original  and  sometimes  distinguished  in  colouring,  and  are  marvels  of 
fine  printing.  Kunisada  collaborated  sometimes  with  Hiroshige.  But  in 
the  domain  of  the  figure-print  it  is  the  heroic  scenes  of  Kuniyoshi  which 
are  the  great  achievement  of  this  period.  We  have  already  mentioned 
Kuniyoshi's  triptychs  of  these  subjects  produced  during  Kokwa  and  Kayei, 
and  now  continued  through  Ansei  period.  All  the  chief  episodes  of 
Japanese  history  are  illustrated  in  this  long  succession  of  prints ;  and 
how  rich  in  dramatic  events  and  heroic  characters  that  history  is !  The 
great  struggle  between  the  rival  clans  of  Taira  and  Minamoto  ;  the  battle 
of  Ichi-no-tani,  when,  like  the  Persians  at  Thermopylae,  Yoshitsune  and 
his  followers  found  a  mountain-path  supposed  impassable  for  men  and 
fell  on  the  Taira  in  the  rear ;  the  single  combat  between  the  old  warrior 
Kumagaya  and  the  beautiful  youth  Atsumori  in  the  shallow  waves  of  the 
seashore  ;  the  story  of  the  Soga  brothers'  revenge  ;  the  exploits  of  Yoshi¬ 
tsune,  Japan's  darling  hero,  and  his  giant  follower  Benkei ;  and  then, 
later,  the  struggle  of  the  patriot  heroes  Kusonoki  Masashige  and  Nitta 
Yoshisada  against  the  intriguing  Ashikaga  Taka-uji,  their  tragic  and 
devoted  end  ;  these  and  many  more  historic  and  legendary  scenes  became 
vivid  in  Kuniyoshi's  vigorous  triptychs.  Always  with  a  bent  towards  the 
melodramatic,  Kuniyoshi's  conceptions  seem  to  be  somewhat  coloured  by 
stage  representations.  But,  if  occasionally  violent  to  grotesqueness, 
Kuniyoshi  is  sincere.  You  feel  that  his  sympathies  go  out  strongly  to 
his  heroes,  and  most  when  they  are  in  desperate  situations,  as  in  the  print 
we  reproduce,  which  is  part  of  a  triptych  representing  the  last  stand  of  the 
remnant  of  the  Kusonoki  against  the  Ashikaga  power.  And  then,  at  his 
best,  Kuniyoshi  is  a  master  of  dramatic  design.  The  fight  between 
Yoshitsune  and  Benkei  on  Gojo  Bridge ;  the  Ghosts  of  the  Taira  rising 
from  the  sea  and  defied  by  Yoshitsune  in  his  ship  ;  the  Fording  of  the 

188 


KAYE  I  PERIOD  TO  MEIJI  13:  1848  TO  1881 

Uji  River  at  twilight,  with  arrows  hissing  over  the  water  out  of  the  darkness  ; 
the  rescue  of  Tametomo  by  Tengu  from  a  monstrous  fish — these  are 
splendid  in  their  kind. 

Ukiyo-ye  had  been  the  mirror  of  a  people's  daily  life.  Enlarging  its 
range,  it  drew  into  its  scope  all  the  beauty  of  that  people's  native  land, 
with  Hiroshige's  landscapes  ;  and  finally  it  absorbed,  with  Kuniyoshi's 
triptychs,  the  consciousness  of  an  heroic  past. 

Kuniyoshi  survived  Hiroshige  but  three  years ;  Kunisada,  who  had 
retired  from  active  work,  lived  on  another  three  years.  But  the  achieve¬ 
ments  of  Ukiyo-ye  were  complete.  The  successors  of  these  three  masters 
were  powerless  to  give  the  exhausted  tradition  a  new  impetus  or  a  new 
direction.  Many  symptoms  betray  the  disturbing  attractions  and  dis¬ 
integrating  influences  of  the  Western  world,  of  which  Japan  was  beginning 
to  be  more  and  more  keenly  aware,  and  which  herald  the  Restoration  of 
1868  and  the  opening  of  Japan  to  Europe  and  America. 

Even  so  great  a  painter  as  Kyosai,  who  was  an  enthusiastic  collector  of 
the  older  masters,  could  not  revive  their  glory.  He  was  trained  in  Ukiyoye 
style  by  Kuniyoshi,  and  for  a  short  time  designed  prints  signed  Chikamaro  ; 
but  he  soon  abandoned  the  old  traditions  of  the  colour-print,  and  is  better 
known  by  some  later  large  light-coloured  prints  in  the  style  of  the  older 
schools. 

Probably,  in  any  case,  the  Western  contagion,  bringing  with  it  a  sudden 
curiosity  about  such  new  wonders  as  steamships  and  daguerreotypes, 
would  have  ruined  Ukiyo-ye.  It  was  too  powerful  and  disturbing.  And 
we  realize  how  fortunate  for  this  art  of  the  people  had  been  the  singular 
conditions  under  which  it  was  produced  ;  the  artificial  isolation  of  the 
country,  the  absorption  of  the  people  in  its  own  doings,  the  protection 
from  distracting  influences. 

During  the  Meiji  era  there  was  a  certain  revival  of  the  colour-print.  The 
artists  who  designed  these  later  woodcuts  were  men  of  graceful  and  facile 
talent.  But  there  is  no  longer  the  old  conception  of  design,  in  which  the 
drawing  was  controlled  by  the  fundamental  idea  of  adaptability  to  the 
woodcut  line.  The  contours  are  meagre  and  accidental,  no  longer  firm 
and  sweeping ;  pigments  are  of  a  coarser  and  cheaper  quality.  The 
wood-cutters  have  become  perhaps  too  accomplished ;  they  can  reproduce 
any  kind  of  painting ;  and  the  designers,  no  longer  needing  to  consider 
them,  forget  to  think  out  their  designs  in  terms  of  the  woodcut.  We 
reproduce,  as  a  favourable  specimen  of  the  Meiji  print,  a  charming  night- 
scene  with  fire-flies,  by  Kiyochika  (PI.  46).  This  is  of  exceptional  quality. 

189 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


Looking  back  on  the  long  and  varied  achievements  of  Ukiyo-ye  in  the 
realm  of  the  colour-print,  we  are  impelled  to  marvel  more  and  more  at  the 
extraordinary  amount  of  artistic  genius  devoted  to  this  art.  As  pure 
design,  this  body  of  work  is  unrivalled  in  any  other  country,  unless  perhaps 
by  the  Greek  vases.  On  the  emotional,  imaginative,  **  spiritual  ”  side  it 
is  deficient,  it  is  true ;  perhaps  the  design  is  so  consummate  because  it  is 
little  disturbed  by  other  factors. 

It  is  this  devotion  to  design,  this  refusal  to  be  seduced  by  the  lures  of 
picturesque  naturalism,  which  give  the  colour-prints  their  unique  distinc¬ 
tion.  In  them,  too,  we  can  follow  a  special  art  from  its  very  beginning  to 
its  extinction ;  Ukiyo-ye  has  an  unparalleled  completeness. 

But  from  another  point  of  view,  as  the  full,  spontaneous,  vivid  expression 
of  the  moods  of  a  people — or  rather  a  certain  section  of  a  people — Ukiyo-ye 
has  a  singular  interest.  Regarded  in  this  light  we  may  well  conceive  of  it 
as  rising  gradually  to  a  culmination  in  Temmei  period  and  declining 
gradually  through  the  19th  century.  But  too  great  an  insistence  on  the 
sociological  aspect  will  deflect  aesthetic  judgment  and  give  too  little  room  to 
the  significance  of  individual  genius.  In  the  limited  number  of  Kiyonaga’s 
central  masterpieces  we  do,  indeed,  find  a  bloom  as  of  perfect  ripeness, 
which  does  not  come  again.  Yet  if  we  think  of  the  chief  masters  of  the 
colour-print  in  relation,  not  to  the  society  which  produced  them  and  for 
which  they  worked,  but  to  the  art  of  the  world,  we  are  led  to  the  conclusion 
that,  in  spite  of  the  general  decline  of  taste  which  began  in  Kwansei  period, 
it  is  in  Utamaro  and  in  Hokusai  that  Ukiyo-ye  finds  its  summits,  the  one 
supreme  in  figure-design,  the  other  in  landscape.  And  this  not  only 
because  of  their  creative  invention  and  a  range  far  exceeding  the  other 
masters,  but  because  in  these  two,  even  more  than  in  Harunobu  or  Kiyo- 
naga,  there  is  a  capacity  to  divine  and  to  communicate  the  elemental  powers 
in  man  and  nature,  and  to  rise  at  times  into  an  imaginative  world  where 
life  is  more  deeply  felt  and  its  mystery  more  deeply  apprehended. 


190 


NOTES 


NOTE  A 


THE  KWAIGETSUDO  PROBLEM 

The  biographical  details  concerning  Kwaigetsudo  given  in  native  books 
are  not  only  meagre,  but,  in  respect  to  the  period  in  which  he  flourished, 
contradictory.  A  careful  comparison  and  sifting  is  therefore  necessary  in 
order  to  obtain  a  fairly  trustworthy  account,  which  is  believed  to  be  as 
follows. 

Kwaigetsudo  was  an  artist  who  lived  in  Suwd-chd,  Asakusa,  Yedo,  during 
Hoyei  and  Shotoku  periods — 1704  to  1716.  His  common  name  ( zoku-sho ) 
was  Okazawa — some  say  Okazaki — Genshichi.  He  is  said  to  have  used 
the  go  of  Ankei  or  Anshi ;  but  the  general  consensus  of  modern  opinion 
takes  these  to  be  meant  for  Ando,  as  this  name  is  found  on  paintings, 
whereas  the  others  are  not.  Some  of  his  paintings  are  signed  “  Kwaiget¬ 
sudo  ”  only.  There  dwelt  in  the  same  street  as  himself  a  wealthy  agent  to 
several  families,  by  name  Heioku  Zenroku,  with  whom  he  was  on  intimate 
terms  of  friendship.  In  the  4th  year  of  Shotoku — 1714,  he  was  in  some 
way  implicated  in  a  Court  scandal  concerning  the  Lady  Yeshima,  who  had 
allowed  herself  to  be  seduced  by  an  actor  named  Ikushima  Shingoro,  both 
of  whom  were  sentenced  to  exile.  One  account  says  that  Kwaigetsudd 
received  a  like  sentence  and  was  banished  to  the  island  of  Oshima.  Another 
account  states  that,  owing  to  the  favourable  intervention  of  his  friend 
Zenroku,  he  was  afterwards  lodged  with  a  rice  merchant.  It  is  not  clearly 
stated  whether  this  means  after  sentence  or  after  punishment,  the  phrase 
in  the  original  being  ambiguous.  In  any  case,  he  appears  to  have  con¬ 
tinued  soon  after  to  exercise  his  profession. 

All  these  biographies,  however  much  they  differ  in  detail,  speak  of  one 
man  only,  namely  Kwaigetsudd. 

There  are  paintings  signed  Kwaigetsudd,  Kwaigetsudo  Ando,  and 
Chdyddo  Anchi,  prefaced  by  'Nippon  gi-gwa ;  and  paintings  and  prints 
which  bear  the  names  of  Anchi,  Dohan,  Doshin,  and  Doshu,  prefixed  by 
the  words  "  Nippon  gi-gwa  Kwaigetsu  matsu-yd.”  This  fact  has  led 
most  writers  to  believe  that  these  signatures  belong  to  a  group  of  different 
artists,  who  with  Kwaigetsudd  at  their  head  formed  a  sub-school  of  the 
Ukiyoye  school ;  and  that  Anchi,  Dohan,  Doshin,  and  Doshu  were  Ando's 
pupils  or  descendants. 

At  the  same  time  they  agree  as  to  the  extraordinary  similarity  not  only  in 
the  work  of  the  alleged  master  and  pupils,  but  also  in  the  handwriting  of 
their  signatures. 

One  or  two  critics,  on  the  other  hand,  deny  the  correctness  of  this  view, 

T93  0 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


contending  that  there  was  no  sub-school  at  all  and  that  these  signatures 
are  not  those  of  pupils  or  descendants,  but  were  special  brush-names  used 
occasionally  by  one  artist  only — Kwaigetsudo  Ando. 

The  question  is,  which  of  these  opinions  is  most  likely  to  be  correct  i 
Let  us  first  examine  the  school  theory. 

Dr.  Julius  Kurth,  in  his  book  Der  Japanische  Holzschnitt ,  1910 — new 
edition,  1922 — emphatically  asserts  that  “  Kwaigetsudo  is  a  school-name 
(sippenname) ,  just  as  Hishikawa,  Torii,  or  Okumura,  but  not  an  individual 
name  ( einzelname ).”  This  argument,  however,  cannot  be  upheld ;  for 
there  is  no  parallel  between  Kwaigetsudo  and  the  names  he  quotes,  inas¬ 
much  as  the  latter  are  family  or  surnames,  whereas  the  former  is  what  is 
known  as  a  do-go ,  that  is  to  say  a  pseudonym  which  it  was  the 
custom  for  scholars,  artists,  publishers,  booksellers,  and  such-like  to 
adopt.  As  examples,  we  have  Okumura  Masanobu,  who  as  an  artist  used 
the  dogo  of  Hogetsudo,  and  as  a  publisher  that  of  Kwakujudo  ;  Furuyama 
Moroshige’s  pupil  Moromasa,  who  took  Getsu-getsudo  as  his  do -go ; 
Tsutaya  Jusaburo,  that  of  Koshodo ;  Nishimura-ya  Yohachi,  that  of 
Yeijudo — these  two  latter  being  famous  publishers.  Clearly  Kwaigetsudd 
is  the  name  of  an  artist,  not  the  appellation  of  a  school. 

The  next  point  for  consideration  is  the  true  signification  of  the  prefix 
**  Kwaigetsu  matsu-yo.” 

Kwaigetsu  is,  of  course,  an  abbreviation  of  Kwaigetsudo,  who  is  generally 
acknowledged  to  have  been  identical  with  the  artist  Ando.  Matsu-yo 
means  literally  **  last  leaf  ”  (as  of  a  tree),  and  hence  may  be  extended  to 
mean  44  posterity  ”  or  “  descendant,”  but  hardly  “  pupil.”  It  was  the 
custom  for  an  artist  desirous  of  declaring  in  his  signature  that  he  was  a 
pupil  of  a  certain  master  to  insert  between  his  own  and  his  master's  name 
the  words  “  mon-jin ,”  literally  “  gate-man  ” — so-called  because  he  had 
been  allowed  to  enter  the  latter’s  **  gate.”  For  instance,  we  have  such 
signatures  as  4*  Yeishi  monj in  Gokyo  ” ;  11  Utamaro  monjin  Toyomaro ; 
Toyokuni  monjin  Kunimitsu,”  and  so  on.  Matabei  (1572-1650),  in  his 
famous  set  of  paintings  of  the  Thirty-six  Poets,  executed  in  1640,  used 
the  signature  Ye-shi  Tosa  Mitsunobu  (1434-1525)  matsu-ryu  Iwasa 
Matabei  Shoi,  meaning  44  Iwasa  Matabei  Shoi,  a  4  lower  or  inferior  stream  ’ 
of  the  painter  Tosa  Mitsunobu.”  Of  itself  Matsu-ryu  may  also  mean 
44  posterity  ”  or  44  descendant,”  but  in  that  sense  would  have  little,  if  any, 
significance  here,  seeing  that  Matabei  was  not  born  till  forty-seven  years 
after  the  death  of  Mitsunobu,  and  that  the  picture  was  not  painted  till  one 
hundred  and  ten  years  after  that  event.  Doubtless  the  artist  used  it  in  its 

194 


THE  KWAIGETSUDO  PROBLEM 


literal  sense  and  as  a  humilific.  There  is  no  record  of  any  artist  using  this 
expression  or  that  of  “  matsu-yo  ”  to  intimate  that  he  was  a  descendant  in 
the  sense  of  44  pupil.” 

The  definition  of  matsu-yo  by  that  eminent  scholar  Mr.  Uyeda  Bannen 
in  his  Romaji  Dictionary  ( Romaji- de-hiku  kokugo  jiten),  1920  edition,  is 
(1)  last  age  or  phase  of  life  ( matsu  no  yo)  ;  (2)  posterity  or  descendant 
(. shison ,  lit.  children  and  grandchildren).  There  seems  little  doubt  that 
this  primary  meaning  is  intended  in  the  signatures  Dohan,  etc.,  and  that 
their  real  interpretation  is  44  Japanese  amusement-picture  ( nippon  gi-gwa)  ; 
Kwaigetsu,  in  his  last  phase  Dohan,  etc.,  drew  this  ( kore  wo  zu-su ).” 

As  proof  of  this,  one  has  but  to  examine  certain  paintings  on  which  one 
or  other  of  these  signatures  appear  to  discover  that  they  are  often  followed 
by  the  seal 44  Ando,”  thus  clearly  indicating  that  he,  otherwise  Kwaigetsudo, 
was  the  painter. 

Examples. — In  Mr.  Oscar  Raphael's  collection  is  a  painting  signed 
44  Nippon  gi-gwa  Kwaigetsu  matsu-yo  Doshin  kore  wo  zu-su,”  and  sealed 
44  Ando.”  In  the  illustrated  catalogue  of  Japanese  old  fine  arts  displayed 
at  the  Japan-British  Exhibition,  London,  1910,  is  the  signature  on  illus¬ 
trated  picture  118,  44  Nippon  gi-gwa  Kwaigetsu  matsu-yo  Doshu  kore  wo 
zu-su,”  and  sealed  44  Ando.”  Illustrated  picture  119  in  the  same  cata¬ 
logue  bears  the  signature,  44  Nippon  gi-gwa  Kwaigetsu  matsu-yo  Dohan 
kore  wo  zu-su,”  and  sealed  44  Ando.” 

It  may  be  urged  that  Kwaigetsudo  Ando  permitted  his  so-called 
44  pupils  ”  to  use  his  seal  occasionally  on  their  paintings ;  and,  if 
we  could  be  sure  that  these  men  were  actually  his  pupils,  there  is 
precedent  of  this  having  been  done  in  the  classic  schools.  But  the 
expression  44  descendant  of  Kwaigetsudo  ”  connotes  a  considerable 
interval  of  time  between  master  and  descendant,  whereas  no  such  interval 
is  here  deducible. 

In  Kwagai  Manroku,  published  in  1825,  we  are  told  that  “  Kwaigetsudo 
lived  in  Asakusa,  Yedo,  during  the  Genna  period  (1615-1624),  and 
was  the  first  artist  of  the  Ukiyoye  school  in  Yedo.”  If  this  state¬ 
ment  is  true  and  Dohan,  Doshin,  etc.,  were  his  descendants,  then 
the  expression  Matsu-yo  in  this  sense  is  quite  proper,  as  they  worked  at 
the  lowest  computation  eighty  years  later.  Against  this  is  the  fact  that 
no  work  of  the  Genna  Kwaigetsudo  is  known  to  exist ;  and,  though  this 
is  but  negative  evidence,  still  it  cannot  be  ignored.  If,  again,  we  presume 
his  reality,  then  the  Hoyei-Shotoku  Kwaigetsudo  Ando  must  have  been 
the  second  and  equally  his  descendant :  yet  he  never  subscribed  himself 

195 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


as  such.  We  are,  therefore,  forced  to  the  conclusion  that,  as  there  was 
not  sufficient  interval  of  time  between  the  work  of  Ando  and  that  of  Anchi, 
Dohan,  Doshin,  and  Doshu  to  justify  the  use  of  Matsu-yo  in  the  sense  of 
**  descendant,"  it  should  not  be  so  interpreted  :  and  that  the  correct 
interpretation  is  that  Ando  used  it  during  the  last  years  of  his  activity, 
being  the  equivalent,  as  Sui-insha  shujin  states  in  No.  55  of  the  magazine, 
Ukiyo-ye,  published  on  13th  September,  1920,  of  ban-nen  or  44  the  latter 
part  of  his  life." 

In  addition  to  the  above  considerations,  we  find  these  various  signatures 
so  exact  a  counterpart  one  of  the  other  that  only  one  thoroughly  versed 
in  the  reading  of  Japanese  handwriting  can  distinguish  the  names  Anchi, 
Dohan,  etc. ;  not  only  is  the  hand  peculiar  and  sprawling,  but  it  is  pre¬ 
cisely  similar  in  each  case.  Enough  has  been  said  to  prove  that,  from  the 
point  of  view  of  signatures,  the  sub-school  and  master  and  pupils  theory 
is  untenable. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  the  work  in  which  these  signatures  are  found.  We 
notice  that  the  female  figures — and  they  are  mostly  such,  either  standing, 
stooping,  or  sitting — are  all  of  the  courtesan  class  ;  are  all  clothed  in 
heavy  garments  worn  in  the  same  way  and  manipulated  in  the  same  manner, 
and  are  all  drawn  in  the  broad  style  used  in  paintings  known  as  44  ema," 
done  on  gaku  or  tablets  which  were  hung  up  in  shrines  as  votive  offerings. 
We  notice,  too,  that  the  drawing  of  the  face,  hands,  feet  and  poise  of  the 
head  is  identical. 

Is  it  possible  that  five  different  men,  no  matter  how  skilful  imitators 
they  may  have  been,  could  have  followed  each  other’s  mannerisms  with 
such  fidelity  i 

It  may  be  asked,  why  did  Kwaigetsudo  change  his  signature  so  often  i 
He,  like  Hokusai,  doubtless  had  his  reasons,  at  which  we  can  only  con¬ 
jecture.  It  may  be  that  after  the  Yeshima  affair  had  blown  over  and  he 
had  resumed  work,  he  thought  it  prudent  to  adopt  these  44  go  "  to  hide 
his  identity  in  view  of  his  disgrace,  still  retaining  that  of  Ando  on  occasions. 
It  is  noteworthy  that  the  Ando  seal  is  not  found  on  prints,  which  fact  may 
signify  that  these  were  a  little  later  in  date  than  those  paintings  upon  which 
the  names  of  Kwaigetsudo  or  Kwaigetsudo  Ando  only  appear. 


196 


NOTE  B 


THE  SECOND  KIYONOBU  PROBLEM 

A  hoso-umshi-ye  print  that  has  come  into  the  possession  of  Mr.  Carl 
Schraubstadter,  who  has  kindly  furnished  the  writer  with  a  photograph 
and  has  given  permission  to  make  such  use  of  it  as  may  be  necessary  for 
the  present  note,  bears  the  signature  u  Ni-dai-me  Torii  Kiyonobu  fude," 
that  is  “  drawn  by  the  second  generation  Torii  Kiyonobu."  The  value  of 
this  print  in  regard  to  the  problem  under  review  depends  upon  the 
genuineness  of  this  signature. 

In  the  opinion  of  the  owner  and  of  the  writer  there  is  no  doubt  about 
this  ;  but  Mr.  F.  W.  Gookin,  to  whom  the  latter  is  indebted  for  many 
valuable  suggestions  in  regard  to  the  problem,  writes  as  follows  in  this 
connection.  44  When  I  had  an  opportunity  to  examine  the  Ni-dai-me 
Torii  Kiyonobu  print  in  a  strong  light,  I  found  that  the  4  Ni-dai-me  4 
is  not  printed  but  written  with  a  brush.  Although  I  more  than  half 
suspected  this  from  the  photograph  that  was  sent  me,  I  had  to  see  the  print 
to  make  sure.  The  inscription  does  not  appear  to  be  modern,  but  the 
question  4  When  was  it  done  i  *  is  rather  a  vital  one,  is  it  not  i  It  involves 
the  further  question  as  to  whether  the  one  who  wrote  it  was  correctly 
informed.  I  very  much  fear  that  we  cannot  safely  draw  the  conclusions 
from  the  written  statement  that  we  could  from  a  printed  one,  and  especially 
so  if  you  are  right  in  your  contention  that  the  print  depicts  Masugoro  in 
the  Kaomise  play  for  1727."  Another  impression  of  the  print  was  seen  by 
the  writer  in  a  private  collection  and  bore  the  same  signature,  though 
unfortunately  no  opportunity  was  afforded  of  placing  the  two  impressions 
side  by  side  in  order  to  see  whether  there  was  any  variation  in  the  same, 
which  would  have  probably  been  apparent  had  the  44  Ni-dai-me  ”  been 
written  with  a  brush. 

The  print  represents  Ichikawa  Masugoro,  the  son  of  Ichikawa  Danjuro  II, 
in  the  role  of  Kusunoki  Masatsura,  and  Hayakawa  Denshird  as  his  opponent 
in  a  shibaraku  act.  Inscribed  on  the  print  is  a  declamatory  speech  (serif u), 
which  transliterated  reads  as  follows  : 

TRANSLITERATION 

To  karan  mono  wa  Tenjiku  Ryojusen  no  suteppen  daisho  seson  Shaka- 
muni-nyorai  no  natto-beya  te  yotte  kike.  Chikakuba  yotte  Sakai-cho 
Saruwaka  Kanza  ga  kidd-guchi  wo  oppiraite  yoku  miro.  Katajikenaku 
mo  Bidatsu-Tenno  byo-ei  Ide-no-Sadaijin  Tachibana  no  Moroe-ko  no 
koin  Kawachi  no  kuni  no  ju-nin  Kusunoki  Tamon  byo-ei  Masashige  ga 

197 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


chakushi  ddrnyd  Tatewaki  Masatsura  to  iu  shin  aragoto  hyaku  rai  san-dai- 
me  no  Danjurd  to  ho-ho  uyamatte  mosu.  44  Nanda  ore  wo  kosho  tsubo  { 
Sonnara  unura  udon  da  na  dori  de,  hana  ga  shita  ga  nobi  ta  wa  yo  !  Yai  M 
Hari  wa  chisakitte  mo  nomarenu  !  Sansho  wa  kotsubu  demo  waruku 
yotte  ka  !  Kujira  ni  shachiburo  to  dotepara  ni  ana  ga  aku  bei !  Kusunoki 
Tatewaki  Masatsura  ni  mukatte  ichi-ban  kyotte  mibei  to  wa  oyakata  a 
tsugu  mo  nai !  ” 


TRANSLATION 

You  who  are  distant !  listen  well  at  the  steamed-bean  chamber  of  the 
great  Sage  Shakamuni-nyorai  on  the  summit  of  Ryoju  mountain  in  Hindu¬ 
stan.  You  who  are  near  !  push  aside  the  theatre  door  of  Sakai-cho  Saru- 
waka  Kanza  and  have  a  good  look  in.  The  third  Danjurd  that  is  to  be 
(ha  !  ha !)  as  Kusunoki  Tatewaki  Masatsura,  heir  of  Kusunoki  Tamon 
Masashige  a  dweller  in  the  province  of  Kawachi  and  remote  descendant  of 
Ide-no-Sadaijin  Prince  Tachibana-no-Moroe  descendant  of  the  awe¬ 
inspiring  Bidatsu-Tenno  is  respectfully  declaiming  in  a  new  style  of  aragoto 
like  a  hundred  thunders  thus :  “  What !  am  I  a  pepper-pot  i  If  so,  you 
fellows  are  nothing  but  vermicelli — fools  that  you  are  !  Out  upon  you  ! ! 
A  needle  small  though  it  is  cannot  be  swallowed  !  A  pepper- corn  (here 
a  pun  on  his  haimyo  of  Sansho)  may  be  small,  but  it  is  mighty  pungent ! 
A  grampus  can  bore  a  hole  in  the  belly  of  a  whale  !  You  will  be  a  great  fool, 
you  big  fellow,  if  you  would  oppose  Tatewaki  Masatsura/' 

This  last  exclamation  and  probably  the  whole  of  the  aragoto  declamation 
is  addressed  to  his  opponent  Denshiro,  who  in  the  print  is  depicted  being 
trampled  upon  by  Masugoro  in  the  role  of  Masatsura. 

Now  Masugoro  played  the  role  of  Masatsura  upon  the  occasion  of  his 
first  appearance  on  the  stage  at  the  age  of  seven  in  the  Kaomise  performance 
of  44  Yatsumune  Taiheiki,"  produced  at  the  Nakamura  theatre  in  Kyoho 
12,  i.e.  December,  1827  >  when,  as  recorded  in  Kabuki  nendaikiy  vol.  2, 
page  5,  the  audience  were  amazed  at  his  44  aragoto  (violent)  no  serif u  ” — 
doubtless  that  referred  to  above. 

The  toy  windmill  ( kaza-guruma )  and  tambour  ( denden-taiko ),  shown  on 
the  print  at  Masugoro's  feet,  clearly  hint  at  his  extreme  youth. 

Mr.  Gookin  suggests  that  the  serifu  was  probably  written  by  his  father, 
who,  by  his  reference  therein  to  the  third  Danjurd,  intended  to  hint  that 
Masugoro  was  to  be  his  successor,  which  he  in  fact  became  in  the  4th 
month  of  Kyoho  20  (1735).  We  entirely  agree  with  this  suggestion,  the 

198 


THE  SECOND  KIYONOBU  PROBLEM 


more  so  as  his  father  did  the  same  thing  later  on.  The  only  other  occasion 
upon  which  Masugord  played  the  part  of  Masatsura  was  in  the  Kaomise 
play  “  Shihon  Taiheiki  "  in  Kyoho  18  (December,  1733) ;  but  this  was 
produced  at  the  Ichimura  theatre,  whereas  the  words  “  push  open  the 
stage  door  of  Sakai-cho  Saruwaka  Kanza  "  evidently  indicate  that  the 
scene  depicted  was  from  a  play  produced  at  the  Nakamura  theatre,  formerly 
called  the  Saruwaka  theatre,  under  the  proprietorship  of  Nakamura 
Kanzaburo. 

We  know  that  the  first  Kiyonobu  died  on  August  nth,  1729  ;  and,  as 
this  print  was  according  to  custom  designed  soon  after  the  scene  it  depicts, 
its  date  may  be  safely  fixed  as  either  the  close  of  1727  or  the  beginning  of 
1728.  If  then  the  signature  is,  as  we  believe,  genuine,  apart  from  the 
question  as  to  the  Ni-dai-me  having  been  printed  or  written  with  a  brush, 
the  inference  is  that  Kiyonobu  I  had  retired  as  an  inkyo  (one  who  has 
renounced  his  right  as  head  of  the  family)  during  1727,  and  that  the  artist 
whoever  he  may  have  been  succeeded  to  the  title  with  his  approval.  Now 
Kiyomasu  was  the  eldest  son  and  natural  heir  to  the  title,  and  history 
records  that  he  was  his  father's  successor.  Mr.  Gookin  makes  the  follow¬ 
ing  interesting  suggestion. 

“  If  it  be  true  that,  having  become  an  inkyo  in  1727,  Torii  Shdbei  (i.e. 
the  first  Kiyonobu)  gave  the  Kiyonobu  go  to  his  son,  theretofore  known  as 
Kiyomasu,  then  it  must  be  that  there  was  a  nidaime  Kiyomasu  as  well  as 
Kiyonobu.  That  the  two  go ,  Kiyonobu  and  Kiyomasu,  could  have  been 
used  off  and  on,  alternately,  by  the  same  person  I  do  not  believe.  But  it 
may  be  that  after  Kiyomasu  I  was  made  Kiyonobu  II,  one  of  the  other 
pupils  of  Kiyonobu  I — perhaps  Kiyotada — was  made  Kiyomasu  II. 
Japanese  usage  permitted  much  liberty  in  the  assumption  of  names,  but 
there  were  some  conventions  that  it  was  not  possible  to  violate,  and  that 
any  Torii  artist  should  have  had  two  Kiyo  go  in  use  at  the  same  time  is 
incredible."  The  above  has  reference  to  a  theory  put  forward  by  the 
writer  that  it  was  Kiyomasu  who  designed  the  print  in  question  and  signed 
**  Ni-dai-me  Torii  Kiyonobu,"  to  indicate  his  succession  to  the  title.  It 
seems  inconceivable  that  during  his  father's  lifetime  he  would  have  been 
passed  over  in  favour  of  a  pupil,  especially  as  he  had  proved  himself  to  be 
a  capable  artist  and  hence  was  a  worthy  successor.  There  exist  at  least 
two  prints  which  are  signed  u  Torii  Kiyonobu,"  but  sealed  “  Kiyomasu." 
Moreover,  from  about  1727-1728  there  is  a  continuous  and  characteristic 
parallel  in  style  between  prints  bearing  either  of  these  two  signatures.  The 
alternate  use  by  one  artist  of  two  Kiyo  go  is  difficult  to  understand — and 

199 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


resolves  itself  into  the  possibility  of  such  a  phenomenon  having  actually 
occurred.  In  considering  whether  it  was  on  a  pupil  other  than  Kiyomasu 
that  the  right  to  use  the  brush-name  of  the  second  Kiyonobu  was  conferred, 
it  would  have  to  be  proved  that  the  pupil  had  abandoned  his  former  go 
before  using  the  latter  ;  otherwise  the  difficulty  of  the  alternate  use  of  two 
go  would  again  arise.  In  the  case  of  Kiyotada,  for  instance,  his  activity  is 
given  in  the  Chronicle  of  Ukiyoye  artists  that  forms  an  appendix  to  No.  55 
of  the  Ukiyo-ye  Magazine  published  in  September,  1920,  as  extending  from 
1716  to  1745,  which,  if  correct,  and  we  assume  that  he  was  made  Kiyomasu 
II,  presents  a  parallel  difficulty  as  regards  alternation  of  signatures. 

Though  it  may  be  premature  to  conclude  that  the  identity  of  the  second 
Kiyonobu  with  Kiyomasu  is  established  by  this  print  without  other 
independent  corroborative  evidence  as,  for  example,  a  print  signed  “  Kiyo¬ 
masu  aratame  (changed  to)  Ni-dai-me  Kiyonobu/'  yet  it  is  thought  that 
the  evidence  of  the  print,  providing  always  that  the  signature  is  genuine, 
makes  this  highly  probable.  In  any  case  its  importance  in  the  solution  of 
the  problem  cannot  be  overlooked. 

An  important  contribution  to  the  problem  under  discussion  appeared  in 
Vol.  2,  Nos.  3  and  4  of  the  Ukiyoye  Society  of  Japan's  quarterly  journal, 
Ukiyoye  no  Kenkyu ,  published  at  Tokyo  in  July,  1923,  from  the  pen  of 
Mr.  K.  Inouye,  under  the  title  of  **  Torii  Kiyonobu  and  Torii  Kiyomasu," 
supplemented  by  **  Generations  of  the  Torii  line." 

Unfortunately  a  copy  of  the  journal  did  not  reach  the  present  writer  till 
the  middle  of  August,  by  which  time  the  manuscript  for  this  book  had 
already  passed  into  the  publisher's  hands,  thus  precluding  anything  more 
than  a  brief  summary  of  the  salient  points,  and  excluding  any  sifting  of 
the  evidence  produced  by  the  author  in  support  of  his  opinions. 

The  subject  is  treated  under  six  headings.  (1)  The  father  of  Kiyonobu  I. 
(2)  Kiyonobu  I.  (3)  The  elder  brother  of  Kiyonobu  II.  (4)  Kiyonobu  II. 
(5)  Kiyomasu  I.  (6)  Kiyomasu  II.  Certain  biographical  and  other 
details  are  given  under  these  headings  as  follows.  The  words  in  brackets 
are  comments  by  the  present  writer. 

(1)  The  opinion  that  Kiyomoto,  the  father  of  Kiyonobu  I,  died  on 
May  24th,  1702,  at  the  age  of  58,  receiving  the  posthumous  name  of 
Gen-tetsu,  and  that  his  wife  died  in  1721,  aged  65,  receiving  Myd-5 
as  her  posthumous  name,  is  to  be  discredited  for  the  following  reason. 
(On  the  front  face  of  one  of  the  two  tombstones  of  the  Torii  family, 
now  in  the  Somei  cemetery  on  the  outskirts  of  Tokyo,  these  names 


200 


THE  SECOND  KIYONOBU  PROBLEM 


appear  below  the  posthumous  names  of  Kiyonobu  I  and  his  wife 
respectively.)  Supposing  for  the  moment  that  these  dates  and  ages 
are  correct,  Kiyomoto  must  have  been  born  in  1645  and  his  wife  in 
1657.  According  to  the  Torii  records  they  were  married  in  1661, 
and  their  son  Kiyonobu  I  was  born  in  1664,  at  which  date  his  father 
would  have  been  20  and  his  mother  but  8 — an  obvious  absurdity. 

Kiyomoto's  common  name  was  Shoshichi.  Date  of  his  death  and 
his  posthumous  name  are  matters  for  investigation. 

(2)  Kiyonobu  I  was  a  son,  perhaps  the  second,  of  Kiyomoto.  He  was 
born  in  1664.  Common  name,  Shobei.  Married  in  1693.  Wife, 
born  in  1675,  died  on  28th  day  of  5th  (not  1st)  month  of  Shotoku  6 
(July  7th,  1716),  aged  42  ;  her  posthumous  name  was  Yd-k6-in 
Myo-gi  Nit-ten.  She  bore  him  either  3  sons  and  1  daughter  or 
4  sons  and  2  daughters.  (Perhaps  Gentetsu  and  Myo-o  referred  to  in 
No.  1  were  the  posthumous  names  of  his  eldest  son  and  second 
daughter.)  Kiyonobu  I  died  on  28th  day  of  7th  month  of  Kyoho  14 
(August  nth,  1729),  aged  66,  and  received  the  posthumous  name  of 
Jo-gen-in  Sei-shin  Nichiryu. 

(3)  Kiyomasu  I  was  eldest  or  second  son  of  Kiyonobu  I.  Common  name, 
Shojiro.  Born  about  1696  ;  died  on  25th  day  of  5th  month  of  Shotoku 
6  (July  3rd,  1716),  aged  about  21.  Posthumous  name  :  Is-san  Do-mu 
(on  left  side  of  the  first  Torii  tombstone). 

(4)  The  elder  brother  of  Kiyonobu  II  (the  designation  adopted  by 
Inouye)  was  the  2nd  or  3rd  son  of  Kiyonobu  I.  Common  name,  not 
clear.  Born  c.  1699 ;  died  c.  1724,  aged  c.  26.  Post,  name  :  Taitoku. 

(5)  Kiyonobu  II  was  the  third  or  fourth  son  of  Kiyonobu  I.  Common 
name,  Teishiro  ;  afterwards  Shobei.  Born  about  1702  ;  died  on  1st 
day  of  6th  month  of  Horeki  2  (June  30th,  1752),  aged  about  51. 
Posthumous  name :  Chi-ryo-in  Ho-gen  (on  right  side  of  first  Torii 
tombstone). 

(6)  Kiyomasu  II  was  born  in  1706.  Common  name,  Hansaburd.  The 
**  Torii  gwa-kei-fu  ”  states,  without  discriminating  between  a  first 
and  a  second  Kiyomasu,  that  he  was  adopted  as  muko  (son-in-law 
marrying  into  his  wife's  family)  by  Kiyonobu  I  upon  marrying  his 
eldest  daughter  ;  that  his  wife  was  born  in  1707,  bore  him  4  sons 
and  6  daughters,  and  died  on  14th  day  of  8th  month  of  Horeki  n 
(September  12th,  1761) ;  and  that  late  in  life  he  removed  from 
Naniwa-cho  (where  Kiyonobu  I  had  resided)  to  Sumiyoshi-cho.  He 


201 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


died  on  2nd  day  of  the  nth  (not  12th)  month  of  Horeki  13  (December 
6th,  1763),  aged  58.  Posthumous  name  :  Sei-gon-in  So-rin  Nichi-jo 
(on  front  face  of  the  second  tombstone). 

Whether  Mr.  Inouye's  opinions  will  bear  the  test  of  future  criticism  or 
not,  he  has  certainly  presented  the  problem  surrounding  the  names  of 
Kiyonobu  and  Kiyomasu  in  a  new  light ;  and,  though  Kiyomasu  is  spoken 
of  as  but  one  artist  throughout  the  body  of  the  present  work,  the  possibility 
of  there  having  been  two  should  not  be  overlooked.  We  would  remark, 
however,  on  (5)  that  prints  signed  Kiyonobu  were  published  at  least  as 
late  as  the  spring  of  1757 ;  e.g.  a  print  in  the  Ritchie  collection,  sold  at 
Christie's  in  1910,  of  Onoye  Kikugord  in  a  part  played  by  him  only  in  the 
first  month  of  Horeki  7,  or  February-March,  1757.  There  are  also  three 
little  picture-books  of  plays  in  the  British  Museum,  dated  in  MS.  1755, 
1757  and  1758.  If,  therefore,  Kiyonobu  II  died  in  1752,  we  have  to 
presume  a  Kiyonobu  III.  But  who  can  this  artist  have  been  s'  Was  he 
Kiyomasu  after  alls'  Or,  if  Kiyonobu  II  lived  on  after  1752,  who  was 
the  Chi-ryo-in  Ho-gen  of  the  tomb-stone  i 


202 


NOTE  C 


THE  SHIKO-CHOKI  PROBLEM 

In  a  paper  read  before  the  Japan  Society  of  London  on  April  21st,  1922, 
the  present  writer  expressed  the  opinion  that  there  were  two  artists  who 
used  the  name  of  Shiko ;  the  first  a  pupil  of  Toriyama  Sekiyen,  and  who 
some  time  between  1784  and  1789  had  assumed  the  name  of  Choki ;  the 
other  a  pupil  of  his  to  whom  he  had  given  his  discarded  name. 

The  following  arguments  were  advanced  in  support  of  this  opinion  : 

1.  That  the  writer  Shikitei  Samba  (1775-1822)  had  declared  that  Choki's 
first  name  was  Shiko. 

2.  That  Shiko  is  recorded  in  books  from  1772-1784,  illustrated  by 
Sekiyen,  as  having  assisted  in  the  designs  as  the  latter's  pupil. 

3.  That  in  a  book,  Tenka  ichimen  kagami  umebachi,  three  vols.,  1789, 
Choki  appears  as  the  illustrator — the  first  known  use  of  this  name. 

4.  That  prints  signed  Choki  are  clearly  earlier  than  those  signed  Shiko, 
and  follow  the  manner  of  Kiyonaga  and  Yeishi,  whilst  the  latter  are 
more  like  those  of  Utamaro  in  the  latter  half  of  the  Kwansei  period 
(1795  to  1800). 

5.  That  a  book,  Ikebana  tebiki-gusa ,  five  vols.,  1800,  is  illustrated  by 
Momokawa  Shiko,  and  that  there  is  a  Shik5-signed  surimono  dated 
1798,  i.e.  twelve  and  ten  years  respectively  after  Sekiyen's  pupil 
had  taken  the  name  of  Choki. 

6.  That  there  is  a  print  signed  “  Shiko  "  and  dated  Monkey  1,  which 
from  its  style  can  only  be  referred  to  the  Monkey  year  of  1800. 

7.  That  at  least  two  prints  exist  signed  respectively  Yeishosai  Choki 
and  Yeishosai  Shiko,  the  latter  at  least  ten  years  later  in  date. 

8.  That  in  a  book,  Shibai  kummo  zui ,  compiled  by  Samba  between  1803 
and  1805,  Yeishosai  Choki  appears  as  the  hissha  or  copyist ,  having 
apparently  given  up  print-designing  for  this  metier. 

9.  That  the  frontispiece  to  a  novelette,  Futari  Kamuro,  1802,  is  signed 
**  Shiko  gwa,"  followed  by  a  seal  Shi  (the  same  ideograph  as  that  of 
the  Shi  in  Shi-ko),  Mon,  and  Shi  (Jap.  uji,  meaning  family  name  or 
Mr.)  ;  the  reading  being  “  Family  name  Shimon  or  Mr.  Shimon." 
But,  it  was  argued,  as  there  is  no  such  family  name  (the  Editor  here 
remarked  it  would  be  safer  to  say — as  the  existence  of  such  as  a  sur¬ 
name  is  highly  improbable),  it  was  interpreted  to  mean  that  the  artist 

203 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


here  acknowledged  that  he  was  the  mon  (-jin)  or  pupil  of  Mr,  Shi  (-kd), 
who  could  be  none  other  than  Chdki,  formerly  Shiko,  the  pupil  of 
Sekiyen. 

Taking  these  points  into  consideration,  the  writer  felt  that  the  pupil 
theory  was  far  more  likely  to  be  correct  than  to  assume  that  for  some 
unknown  reason  Shiko  had,  after  changing  to  Choki  prior  to  1789,  reverted 
to  Shiko  about  1795 — for  which  there  was  no  precedent.  The  recent 
discovery,  however,  of  the  above-mentioned  print  signed  Ni-dai-me  Torii 
Kiyonobu  reopens  the  question.  For  if  it  be  true  that  Kiyomasu  and 
Kiyonobu  II  are  identical  and  that  he  continued  to  use  both  signatures 
after  his  father's  retirement,  then  may  not  Shiko  have  acted  somewhat 
similarly  and  reverted  to  this  name  after  having  discarded  it  i  It  is  true 
that  the  two  cases  are  not  exactly  parallel,  since  in  Kiyomasu's  case  it  is  a 
question  of  an  arbitrary  alternate  use  of  the  two  signatures,  whereas  in 
Choki's  case  there  is  no  such  systematic  alternation,  but  rather  reverting 
to  a  discarded  name  with  pronounced  interval  between  the  discard  and  the 
reversion.  Still,  the  two  questions  are  sufficiently  allied  to  demand  further 
investigation  into  the  latter  before  the  pupil  theory  can  be  accepted.  It 
may  here  be  remarked  that  nearly  all  the  problems  that  confront  the 
student  of  Ukiyo-ye  are  bound  up  with  the  apparently  (from  our  want  of 
knowledge  of  customs)  arbitrary  and  capricious  manner  in  which  artists 
adopted,  dropped,  and  reassumed  their  go.  As  several  such  cases  will  be 
noticed  during  the  perusal  of  this  volume,  one  example  in  explanation  will 
suffice.  A  calendar  surimono  of  1765,  referred  to  in  the  body  of  the  work, 
is  signed  on  the  right  “  Ishikawa  Toyonobu,”  seal  Ishikawa,  and  on  the 
left  **  Kyosen  renju,  Rinko  ”  (latter  in  seal). 

Another  calendar  for  the  same  year  is  signed  Giho,  and  sealed  Rinko, 
thereby  indicating  one  individual,  which  it  would  have  been  impossible  to 
have  known  if,  as  is  often  the  case,  the  seal  Rinko  had  been  omitted. 


204 


NOTE  D 


THE  REAL  CAUSE  OF  UTAMARO'S 
IMPRISONMENT 

The  late  Mr.  Sekine  Shisei  (died  1893)  records  in  his  work  Meijin  ki  shin 
roku  that  Nishikiye  of  the  Taiko  and  his  five  wives  after  designs  by  Utamaro 
were  put  on  sale  on  June  23rd,  1804,  and  that  the  artist  was  censured  and 
sentenced  to  three  days'  imprisonment  and  confinement  to  his  house 
under  handcuffs,  which  latter  expired  on  August  12th — that  is,  for  a  period 
of  fifty  days.  The  writer,  doubtless,  refers  to  the  well-known  but  little- 
understood  triptych  entitled  Taiko  go  sai  Rakuto  yukwan  no  zu. ,  i.e.  44  A 
picture  of  the  Taiko  (Toyotomi  Hideyoshi)  and  his  five  wives  pleasure¬ 
viewing  at  Rakuto,"  in  which  the  artist  depicts  an  incident  that  actually 
occurred  on  April  10th,  1598,  when  Hideyoshi,  accompanied  by  his  legiti¬ 
mate  wife,  and  four  concubines — in  their  order  of  rank,  Kita-no-mando- 
koro,  Matsu-no-maru,  Sanjo-dono,  Yodo-dono,  and  Kaga-no-tsubone 
(called  Kana-dono  in  the  triptych) — sought  a  few  hours'  relaxation  from 
the  cares  of  State  in  the  peaceful  temple  grounds  of  Sambo-in  at  Rakutd 
Daigo,  east  of  the  Kamo  River,  Kyoto,  where  a  banquet  was  served  in  a 
screened-off  enclosure  beneath  the  flowering  cherry  trees.  Some  writers 
have  thought  that  this  picture  in  some  subtle  way  was  regarded  by  the 
Government  as  a  reflection  upon  the  dissolute  life  of  the  reigning  Shogun 
Iyenari,  and  that  in  consequence  of  this  Utamaro  was  punished.  The 
picture,  however,  is  perfectly  straightforward  and  cannot  possibly  be 
interpreted  in  this  way. 

The  real  reason  why  the  authorities  suppressed  it  was  that  it  transgressed 
the  law  and  had  not  received  the  censor's  approval. 

As  far  back  as  the  Tensho  period  (1573-1591)  an  edict  had  been  issued 
forbidding  the  names  and  mon  of  high  personages,  warriors,  and  others 
who  had  rendered  conspicuous  service  to  the  country  to  appear  on  prints 
or  in  books  ;  and,  as  these  were  shown  on  this  triptych,  it  was  suppressed 
and  the  artist  and  publisher  (Kinshodo,  whose  trade-mark  Yama-jin  is 
stamped  thereon)  were  arraigned  and  punished.  In  proof  of  this,  the 
censors  were  notified  at  the  same  time  as  the  triptych  appeared  that 44  since 
Tensho  the  disclosure  on  ichimai-ye  and  in  illustrated  books  {yezdshi )  of 
the  names  and  mon  of  warriors,  etc.,  has  been  strictly  forbidden '' ;  and 
they  were  enjoined  to  exercise  the  utmost  vigilance  to  put  a  stop  to  such  a 
practice. 

From  whatever  source  Mr.  Sekine  obtained  information  that  Utamaro 

205 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


was  imprisoned  and  confined  under  manacles  for  designing  this  triptych, 
his  account  certainly  differs  entirely  from  those  recorded  in  Honcho  Ukiyo 
gwajinden  (pub.  1899),  Hosei  ron  san ,  and  Ukiyo-ye  biko  (1898),  in  each 
of  which  the  following  details  are  given  of  two  single-sheet  prints,  but  no 
mention  is  made  of  the  triptych. 

Firstly,  a  picture  of  the  Taiko  taking  by  the  wrist  Ishida  Mitsunari,  whose 
hair  is  dressed  after  the  manner  of  a  page  (this  is  not  so  in  the  triptych) 
and  whom  he  has  received  in  audience  ;  and  a  female  attendant  (jijo)  who 
holds  a  long-handled  sa/ce-pourer,  and  who  hides  her  face  with  her  sleeve 
(i.e.  to  conceal  her  amusement). 

Secondly,  a  picture  of  Kato  Kiyomasa  in  armour  seated  at  a  feast ;  and 
a  Korean  harlot  playing  the  samisen .  The  two  first  books  further  state 
that  for  these  nishiki-ye  Utamaro  was  summoned,  tried,  and  sent  to  jail 
(the  Hosei  ron  san  says  for  three  days) ;  and  that  on  being  released  from 
prison  was  confined  to  his  house  in  handcuffs,  while  the  nishiki-ye  were 
ordered  to  be  seized,  and  the  publisher  was  fined  15  kwammon .  The 
Biko  states  that  Utamaro  was  immediately  censured  on  the  appearance  of 
these  two  prints  which  were  directed  to  be  confiscated  ;  and  that  he  was 
afterwards,  for  designing  other  prints,  sent  to  jail,  from  which  he  was  soon 
released  and  sent  back  to  his  house.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  Ukiyo-ye 
ruiko  also  speaks  of  two  separate  offences  for  which  he  was  censured  by  the 
authorities,  but  does  not  enter  into  details  either  as  to  the  prints  or  as  to 
the  punishment.  Bakin  (1767-1848),  a  contemporary  of  Utamaro,  tells 
us  in  his  Iwademo  no  ki ,  published  in  1820,  that  “  Utamaro  was  tried  for 
some  nishiki-ye  that  appeared  in  the  spring  of  1805,  and  sentenced  to 
imprisonment ;  and  that  these  nishiki-ye  represented  personages  taken 
from  the  Yehon  Taiko  ki  ”  (**  a  picture-book  of  the  history  of  the  Taiko  ”). 
Shokusanjin  (1748-1823),  a  still  earlier  contemporary,  makes  no  mention 
of  imprisonment,  merely  stating  that  Utamaro  was  confined  to  his  house 
in  handcuffs.  Taking  this  evidence  as  a  whole,  meagre  and  conflicting 
though  it  is,  it  would  appear  that  Utamaro  was  censured  for  the  triptych 
published  in  June,  1804,  and  imprisoned  for  three  days  and  handcuffed 
in  his  house  for  fifty  days  for  the  single-sheet  prints,  which  are  probably 
those  referred  to  by  Bakin  as  having  appeared  in  the  spring  of  1805. 
However  this  may  be,  there  exists  a  series  of  three  very  rare  single-sheet 
prints  published  by  Moriya  Jihei,  whose  trade-mark  appears  thereon,  two  of 
which  are  most  certainly  those  described  above.  Two  of  the  series  are  here 
reproduced  for  the  first  time  (Pis.  37  and  38).  The  one,  inscribed  Mashiba 
Hisayoshi — an  intentional  transposition  for  Hashiba  Hideyoshi,  the  name 

206 


CAUSE  OF  UTAMARO’S  IMPRISONMENT 


by  which  he  was  known  when  serving  under  Nobunaga — agrees  exactly  as 
regards  the  Taiko  and  Ishida  Mitsunari,  whose  mon  is  visible  on  his  sleeve 
with  the  first  of  those  recorded  in  the  above-mentioned  three  books.  The 
female  attendant,  however,  though  she  wears  a  long-sleeved  dress  and 
displays  a  slight  smile,  is  not  shown  as  trying  to  conceal  the  same  with  her 
sleeve,  nor  does  she  grasp  a  long-handled  sake- pourer.  There  is,  more¬ 
over,  a  retainer  of  whom  no  mention  is  made  in  these  books. 

Possibly  the  original  writer,  whom  the  others  followed,  had  not 
himself  seen  the  print,  but  had  heard  of  it  and  was  describing  it  from 
hearsay ;  or,  if  he  had  seen  it,  he  had  not  it  before  him  at  the  time  of 
writing,  but  described  it  from  memory.  What  lends  colour  to  this  sug¬ 
gestion,  apart  from  the  partial  correctness  of  detail,  is  that  the  second 
print,  which  has  been  seen  but  is  not  available  for  reproduction,  tallies 
almost  exactly  with  the  description  given  in  these  books.  It  represents 
Kato  Kiyomasa  in  armour  seated  fan  in  hand  with  a  retainer  kneeling 
beside  him,  and  two  Korean  harlots,  one  of  whom,  kneeling,  is  playing  the 
samisen ,  while  the  other  standing  holds  a  transparent  fan. 

The  inscriptions  on  the  second  of  the  two  prints  here  reproduced  read 
Shibata  Shuri-no-shin  (his  title)  Katsuiye  and  Otani-no-kata.  Katsuiye 
was  Nobunaga's  most  famous  captain,  who  after  his  lord's  assassination 
in  1582  found  service  under  Hideyoshi  whom  he  hated  too  irksome  and 
rebelled ;  but,  being  beaten  and  beleaguered  in  his  castle  at  Kitanosho, 
Echizen,  decided  to  kill  himself  by  committing  seppuku,  and  to  set  fire  to 
the  buildings  so  that  his  corpse  might  not  fall  into  the  hands  of  his  foe. 

Otani-no-kata  was  the  sister  of  Nobunaga,  and  had  first  been  the  wife  of 
Asai  Nagamasa,  to  whom  she  had  borne  three  daughters.  After  Asai's 
death  she  was  married  to  Katsuiye  and  was  at  this  time  along  with  her 
three  daughters  in  Kitanosho.  Her  husband  endeavoured  to  induce  her 
to  escape  with  her  children  ;  but,  while  permitting  the  girls  to  go,  she 
herself  determined  to  die  with  her  lord.  The  courageous  couple  feasted 
and  drank  wine  during  the  night,  together  with  some  trusted  retainers  ; 
and  in  the  morning,  after  Katsuiye  had  directed  the  firing  of  the  castle, 
they  committed  suicide  with  the  same  dirk.  In  the  picture  the  devoted 
wife  is  shown  presenting  a  long  battle-sword  to  her  husband,  thinking 
that  he  intended  to  sally  out  to  battle  ;  but  the  latter  is  shown  holding  his 
short  sword  reserved  for  the  seppuku .  If  we  compare  these  prints  with 
the  triptych,  we  can  readily  understand  the  authorities  taking  a  more 
serious  view  of  the  former,  more  especially  as  they  apparently  constituted 
a  second  offence.  Still,  as  in  the  case  of  the  triptych,  its  gravity  lay  in  the 


207 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


displaying  of  names  and  mon .  In  proof  of  this  and  incidentally  as  affording 
an  interesting  sidelight  on  the  methods  of  censorship,  we  may  mention 
that  the  single-sheet  prints  of  the  Taikd  and  Kiyomasa  (and  probably,  too, 
that  of  Katsuiye,  though  such  has  not  yet  come  under  observation)  were 
reissued  by  the  same  publisher  some  years  later,  when  the  inscriptions 
were  removed  and  the  prints  were  stamped  with  the  censor's  kiwame  seal  of 
approval.  The  sticking  out  of  the  tongue  on  the  part  of  the  retainers  is  a 
mark  of  good-humoured  derision,  intended  in  the  one  case  to  ridicule  the 
notoriously  immoral  relations  that  existed  between  the  Taikd  and  his 
favourite,  and  in  the  other  the  fidelity  of  husband  and  wife,  so  rare  in  those 
days  of  loose  conjugal  ties.  These  pieces  of  satire  doubtless  weighed  with 
the  judge  in  delivering  sentence. 


208 


A  LIST  OF  CHOICE  COLOUR- 
PRINTED  BOOKS  AND  ALBUMS 


A  LIST  OF  CHOICE  COLOUR- 
PRINTED  BOOKS  AND  ALBUMS 

ARRANGED  IN  CHRONOLOGICAL  ORDER  WITH  BRIEF 
DESCRIPTIVE  DETAILS  OF  THE  ORIGINAL  ISSUES 
AND  THE  COLOURS  EMPLOYED 

MEASUREMENTS  ARE  GIVEN  IN  INCHES 
VERTICAL  MEASUREMENT  FIRST 

i.  Yehon  Butai  Ogi,  “  Picture  Book  of  Stage  Fans  "  ;  3  vols.,  io|  xj. 
Two  prefaces  each  of  three  pages,  the  last  dated  Tiger  first  month,  i.e. 
January  27th  to  February  25th,  1770.  Five  preliminary  illustrations  in 
colours,  the  first  signed  Katsukawa  Shunsho,  and  the  fifth  sealed  Mori 
(family  name  of  Ippitsusai  Buncho).  One  hundred  and  six  fan-shaped 
prints  each  occupying  one  page  and  sealed  either  Mori  or  with  the  jar¬ 
shaped  Hayashi  seal  used  by  Shunsho.  Finally,  one  page  of  an  actor 
standing  with  an  open  fan  in  his  right  hand  ;  this  picture  is  signed 
“  Buncho  gwa  "  and  sealed  “  Ippitsusai."  Two  pages  of  postscript 
followed  by  7  pages  of  haikai  (17-syllable)  poems,  amongst  which  is  one 
by  Shunsho  and  one  by  Buncho.  On  the  last  page  is  inscribed  :  **  Meiwa  7 
Tiger  year,  beginning  of  Spring,"  i.e.  January  27th,  1770.  Engraver  : 
Yendo  Matsugoro  of  Kanda  ;  Yedo  bookseller  Kariganeya  Ihei  of  Koishi- 
kawa  Denzuin-mae."  Colours  :  yellow,  green,  beni,  black,  grey,  purple, 
pink,  chestnut-brown,  and  Indian  red.  Mica  is  applied  as  a  ground  to  the 
fans  of  the  actor's  portraits,  and  their  names  are  inscribed  in  white. 

Note. — A  supplement  in  2  vols.  was  published  at  Kyoto  by  Kikuya  Yasubei  in  1778. 

2.  Yehon  Seiro  Bijin  Awase,  **  Picture  Book  comparing  Beauties  of  the 
Green-houses  "  ;  5  vols.,  iof  x  75,  in  dark  blue  covers.  Each  volume  has 
a  frontispiece  with  a  haikai  in  white  on  a  light  blue  ground,  composed  by 
Saren.  The  book  is  divided  into  the  four  seasons  as  follows  :  Vol.  1, 
Sakura  (Cherry)  for  Spring ;  Vol.  2,  Hototogisu  (Cuckoo)  for  Summer ; 
Vol.  3,  Tsuki  (Moon) ;  and  Vol.  4,  Koyo  (Reddening  of  Leaves),  both  for 
Autumn ;  Vol.  5,  Yuki  (Snow)  for  Winter.  Following  the  frontispieces 
are  portraits  of  the  courtezans,  each  inscribed  with  a  haikai  by  Saren. 
The  pictures  are  distributed  thus  :  Vol.  1  with  39  figures,  2  of  which  are 
standing  and  37  sitting  ;  Vol.  2  with  37  figures,  10  standing  and  27  sitting  ; 
Vol.  3  with  14  sitting  figures  ;  Vol.  4  with  14  standing  and  9  sitting  figures, 
23  in  all ;  Vol.  5  with  49  sitting  figures.  Number  of  coloured  illustrations, 
167.  The  first  volume  is  prefixed  by  a  2-page  preface  undated  and  un- 


211 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


signed,  in  which  Harunobu  is  given  as  the  artist.  The  last  page  of  Vol.  5 
contains  the  following :  “  Engraver,  Yendo  Matsugoro  ;  (Date)  Meiwa 
shichi  kanoe  tora  nen  roku-getsu  kichi-nichi,  i.e.  a  lucky  day  in  6th  month 
of  the  Tiger  year  Meiwa  7,  which  began  on  June  23rd,  1770.  Sold  by  the 
Yedo  booksellers  Maruya  Jimpachi  of  Tori  abura  Street  and  Koizumi 
Chugorg  of  Yoshiwara  book-store,  and  by  the  publisher  Funaki  Kasuke 
of  Suruga  Street/'  Colours  :  beni ,  green,  blue,  pink,  yellow,  light  brown, 
dark  brown,  orange,  black,  purple,  slate-blue,  and  greyish  blue.  Gauffrage 
is  applied  to  the  white  portions  of  the  dress  in  two  cases  only — one  on 
page  y*  of  Vol.  1,  and  the  other  on  page  77  of  Vol.  5. 

Note. — Harunobu  died  on  July  7th,  1770.  Kasaya  Saren  was  a  famous  Haikai  composer 
and  an  intimate  friend  of  both  Harunobu  and  Kyosen,  with  the  latter  of  whom  he  collaborated 
in  the  Haikai  poems  of  the  3-vol.  book  entitled  Segen  Jui,  published  in  1758.  Apart  from 
its  artistic  excellence  this  book  affords  an  important  insight  into  Harunobu's  drawing  and 
colouring.  Volumes  3  and  4  representing  Autumn  are  sometimes  bound  in  one  volume. 

3.  Saigwa  Shokunin  Burui,  “  Various  Classes  of  Artisans  in  Coloured 
Pictures  "  ;  2  vols.,  11^  x  7 in  light  blue  covers  ornamented  with  dark 
blue  geometrical  designs  at  top  and  bottom.  Two  prefaces,  both  dated 
December,  1770,  the  latter  by  Minko  himself.  Each  volume  has  a  page  of 
contents,  followed  by  double-page  colour  plates,  15  in  Vol.  1  and  13  in 
Vol.  2,  of  artisans  engaged  in  their  respective  trades  with  inscriptions  setting 
forth  their  origin  and  development.  On  some  of  the  plates  women  and 
children  are  interested  spectators  or  the  actual  workers.  The  last  page, 
which  is  preceded  by  a  postscript  dated  the  12th  month  of  Meiwa  7  (began 
January  16th,  1771),  eulogising  the  work,  reads  as  follows  :  44  Artist : 
Gyokujuken  Tachibana  Minko,  (sealed)  Tachibana  Masakatsu  (his  real 
name) ;  Engraver :  Okamoto  Shogyo,  (sealed)  Kai-in ;  (Date)  Meiwa 
shichi  kanoe  tora  nen  rogetsu,  i.e.  Meiwa  7  year  of  the  Tiger  12th  month, 
which  corresponds  to  January-February,  1771.  Yedo  booksellers  Uyemura 
Tosaburd  and  Sawa  Isuke.  The  plates  are  printed  from  stencils  in  the 
following  colours  :  red,  green,  light  blue,  pink,  grey,  black,  orange,  light 
brown,  dark  brown,  pale  green,  pale  yellow,  and  a  tint  approximating  to 
peach  or  pale  salmon. 

Note. — A  second  edition,  quite  unworthy  of  comparison,  was  issued  by  Uyemura  Tosaburo 
in  1784,  with  a  preface  by  Shokusanjin  who  relates  that  the  first  edition  was  almost  entirely 
destroyed  in  a  conflagration  at  Yedo  in  1772.  This  book  and  a  calendar  print  for  1765  are 
all  that  remain  of  Minko's  signed  work  ;  and  as  the  print  is  not  characteristic  of  his  style, 
being  one  of  a  set  of  six  illustrating  44  The  Fox's  Wedding,"  the  book  is  of  considerable 
importance  and  utility  in  detecting  the  hand  of  the  artist  from  among  the  number  of  nishiki-ye 
which  appeared  unsigned  at  this  period. 


212 


CHOICE  COLOUR-PRINTED  BOOKS 


4.  Sekiyen  Gwafu,  **  Sekiyen 's  Picture  Book  " ;  2  vols.,  12I  x  8|.  Three 
prefaces  ;  the  first  dated  the  first  day  of  the  last  winter  month  of  Mizunoe 
Tatsu,  i.e.  December  24th,  1772 ;  the  second  dated  the  beginning  of  Spring 
of  Mizunoto  Mi,  i.e.  January  23rd,  1773 ;  and  the  third,  which  is  written 
by  Toriyama  Sekiyen,  is  dated  the  1st  month  of  the  Snake  year  of  Anyei, 
i.e.  January-February,  1773.  One  page  of  contents  of  Vol.  1  and  2. 
Vol.  1  contains  12  double-page  pictures  of  human  beings,  monkeys,  birds, 
and  landscapes  in  the  fuki-bokashi  style  of  gradation  printing,  said  to  have 
been  the  invention  of  the  artist.  Some  of  these  are  in  monochrome,  others 
in  colours.  Vol.  2  contains  13  pictures  in  the  same  technique,  of  which 
12  are  double-pages  and  one  a  triple-page  in  colours  of  Peafowl  and 
Peonies.  Then  follow  2  pages  of  postscript ;  and  on  the  last  page  is 
inscribed  :  **  Toriyama  Sekiyen  Toyofusa,"  with  the  seals  “  Toriyama 
shi  "  and  **  Toyofusa/'  “  assisted  by  his  pupils  Shiko,  Sekicho,  and  Gessha. 
Engraver  :  Ryok'kodo  Toyei ;  (Date)  Anyei  san  kinoe  uma  no  toshi  (i.e. 
the  year  of  the  horse  Anyei  3  =  1774).  Owner  of  the  blocks,  Yuriyen 
Toshu."  Colours  :  beni,  green,  yellow,  grey,  brown,  orange,  and  black. 

Note. — The  pupil  Shikd  changed  his  name  to  Choki  some  time  between  1784  and  1789. 
There  are,  however,  several  prints  from  about  1795  to  1802  which  are  signed  “  Shiko," 
which  raises  a  problem  that  has  been  discussed  in  Note  C. 

5.  Nishiki  Hyakunin  Isshu  Azuma-ori,  **  Brocades  of  one  hundred 
Poets'  stanzas  woven  at  Azuma,  i.e.  at  Yedo  "  ;  1  vol.,  114X7!,  in  light 
blue  covers.  A  2-page  preface  written  by  44  Katsukawa  Shunsho  Ririn 
under  the  cold  lamp  light  in  the  waiting-for-spring  month  of  the  2nd  year 
of  Yasuku  nagaki,"  i.e.  the  last  month  of  Anyei  2,  which  began  on  January 
12th,  1774.  This  preface  is  sealed  44  Ririn  Shunsho."  Then  follow  6 
coloured  illustrations  with  the  poems  of  the  Rok'kasen  or  Six  Great  Poets, 
and  100  portraits  of  poets  or  poetesses  each  inscribed  with  a  stanza  of  their 
own  composition.  The  last  page  reads :  44  Artist :  Ririn  Katsukawa 
Yusuke  To  Shunsho  of  Buyo  (i.e.  of  Yedo) ;  Engraver  :  Inouye  Shinshi- 
chiro  of  the  same  city ;  (Date)  Anyei  shi  kinoto  hitsuji  mo-kon,  i.e.  the 
beginning  of  darkness  in  the  Goat  year  Anyei  4,  corresponding  to  October- 
November,  1775  ;  Bookshop  Kariganeya  Gisuke  of  Yedo,  Koishikawa 
Denzuin-mae."  There  is  a  note  stating  that  the  book  is  ready  in  two  kinds, 
viz.  in  colours  and  in  black  and  white.  Colours  are  red,  yellow,  grey, 
mauve,  black,  light  brown,  green,  orange,  and  blue. 

Note. — Of  this  original  issue  only  one  copy  has  so  far  come  under  observation.  The 
poems  as  well  as  the  prefaces  are  in  the  handwriting  of  the  artist.  Later  editions — and  they 
were  several — all  bear  the  date  of  the  original.  They  have,  in  addition,  an  introduction 

213 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 

written  by  44  Watanabe  Hiroshi,  a  pupil  of  Sayama,”  which  is  dated  the  beginning  of  spring 
(i.e.  February  nth,  1774)  in  Anyei  3.  The  poems  in  these  editions  are  in  the  handwriting 
of  Hiroshi's  teacher  Sayama  Chikayuki,  the  second  son  of  Sayama  Ryuchi,  a  famous  calli- 
graphist  in  the  Ohashi  style  of  writing  invented  by  Ohashi  Shigemasa.  The  colour-scheme 
is  practically  identical  with  the  original. 

6.  Seiro  Bijin  Awase  Sugata  Kagami,  “  A  Mirror  reflecting  the  forms 
of  Fair  Women  of  the  Green-Houses  ” ;  3  vols.,  11  x  7-f,  in  pale  blue 
covers  splashed  with  gold  and  ornamented  with  a  touch  of  shrubbery. 
Vol.  1.  A  3-page  preface  by  Koshodo  dated  Anyei  5,  1st  month  which 
began  on  February  19th,  1776.  One  page  of  Spring  Flowers  and  10 
double  pages  of  women  in  Spring  costumes  ;  one  double  page  of  Summer 
Flowers  and  8  double  pages  of  women  in  Summer  dress.  Vol.  2.  One 
page  of  Autumnal  Flowers  and  12  double  pages  of  women  in  Autumn 
garments ;  one  double  page  of  Winter  Flowers  and  10  double  pages  of 
women  in  Winter  garb.  Vol.  3.  One  page  of  the  Shin  Yoshiwara  O-mon- 
guchi  or  Great  Entrance  Gate  of  the  New  Yoshiwara,  and  3  double  pages 
of  women  clad  in  Winter  dress ;  followed  by  2 6|  pages  of  poems  recited 
by  the  women  at  the  four  seasons.  Last  page  reads  :  **  Ukiyoye  Masters 
Kitao  Kwaran  Shigemasa  (and)  Katsukawa  Yuji  Shunsho,  (sealed 
respectively)  Kitao  Shigemasa  (and)  Katsukawa  Shunsho ;  Engraver : 
Inouye  Shinshichi ;  (Date)  published  in  the  first  month  of  Spring  in  the 
Monkey  year  Anyei  5  (began  February  19th,  1776) ;  Yedo  Booksellers 
Yamazaki  Kimbei  of  Honseki  Street  (and)  Tsuta-ya  Jusaburo  of  O-mon- 
guchi  Shin  Yoshiwara — joint  publishers.”  Colours  :  beni,  blue,  pink, 
yellow,  light  brown,  green,  black,  grey,  stone,  mauve,  dark  brown,  and  a 
touch  of  tan  on  flowers  in  last  plate  of  Vol.  1.  Gauffrage  is  used  on  some 
white  fans  in  the  Summer  section,  and  mica  is  applied  to  some  icicles  and 
a  block  of  ice  in  the  winter  section. 

Note  that  in  the  preface  and  at  the  end  of  the  book  Shigemasa's  name  precedes  that  of 
Shunsho.  The  former  designed  the  pictures  for  Spring  and  Autumn,  the  latter  those  for 
Summer  and  Winter. 

7.  Yoshiwara  Keisei  Shin  Bijin  Awase  Jihitsu  Kagami,  "  A  Mirror 
comparing  the  handwriting  of  new  and  beautiful  courtezans  of  the  Yoshi¬ 
wara  ”  ;  an  album,  15  x  10,  in  dark  blue  covers  with  a  suggestion  of  gold 
cloud  effects  and  a  yellow  label  on  which  is  inscribed  the  title,  followed  by 
the  words  **  First  Series  complete.”  Two  pages  of  preface  by  Yomo 
sanjin  (i.e.  Shokusanjin)  dated  the  commencement  of  spring  in  the  Dragon 
year  Temmei  4,  i.e.  January  22nd  to  February  20th,  1784.  Seven  plates, 
15  x  20  each,  each  with  2  celebrated  courtezans,  their  Shinzo  and  Kamuro 

214 


CHOICE  COLOUR-PRINTED  BOOKS 

of  seven  famous  houses  of  the  Yoshiwara.  On  last  page  a  postface  by 
Shurak'kwan  shujin  (the  Master),  and  the  names  of  the  artist  “  Kitao 
Rissai  Masanobu,”  sealed  “  So-seki,”  and  of  the  publisher  44  Koshodo 
Tsutaya  Jusaburd,”  with  his  new  address  of  the  south  side  of  Tori-abura 
Street,  whither  he  had  removed  from  the  Shin  Yoshiwara  Omonguchi  in 
September,  1783.  The  colours,  of  extraordinary  richness  and  purity, 
embrace  the  following  :  Light  and  dark  blue,  orange,  pink,  olive,  bluish 
grey,  purple,  dark  green,  black,  beni,  crimson-red,  yellow,  brown  and  light 
red.  Gauffrage  is  applied  to  the  white  portion  of  some  of  the  robes,  and 
the  writing-table  at  which  one  of  the  courtezans  is  seated  has  its  mosaic 
pattern  sprinkled  with  mica. 

Note. — There  is  no  date  of  publication,  but  it  was  certainly  issued  in  the  spring  of  1784. 
On  the  last  plate  is  an  inscription  on  a  pillar  corresponding  to  March,  1783,  and  on  two 
others  is  the  publisher's  trade-mark  with  Omonguchi  inscribed  above — thus  proving  that 
the  blocks  were  engraved  before  his  removal  to  Tori  abura-cho  in  September,  1783.  These 
2  plates  alone  bear  the  artist's  signature  “  Kitao  Rissai  Masanobu  gwa  "  and  his  seal  **  Soseki," 
and  have,  moreover,  a  title  reading  Seiro  Meikun  jihitsu  shu,  i.e.  “  A  collection  of  the 
autographs  of  famous  fair  ones  of  the  Green-Houses."  No  second  series  has  so  far  come  to 
light,  though  apparently  one  was  contemplated,  judging  from  the  words  on  the  title-label 
above  quoted.  A  2nd  edition  in  wholly  inferior  colours,  with  the  title  “  Seiro  Meikun 
jihitsu  shu,"  appeared  some  years  later,  in  which  the  words  “  Omonguchi  "  over  the 
publisher’s  trade-mark  are  significantly  omitted,  and  in  which  the  beautiful  orange  is 
replaced  by  a  disagreeable  yellow  and  the  blue  by  a  crude  green ;  the  black,  too,  lacks 
depth. 

8.  Genji  Hyakunin  Isshu  Nishiki-ori,  “  Genji  and  100  Poets'  stanzas 
woven  in  brocade  ”  ;  1  vol,  iof  x  7!,  in  dark  blue  covers.  A  double 
page  with  portraits  of  the  3  gods  of  Poetry,  viz.  Sumiyoshi,  Tamatsushima, 
and  Kakinomoto,  in  a  circle  on  a  white  ground  surrounded  by  a  mosaic 
pattern  of  dragons,  etc.  A  double-page  frontispiece  of  Waka-no-ura. 
Four  single-page  illustrations  of  court  ladies  with  each  a  poem  composed 
by  herself  and  topped  by  explanatory  text  occupying  half  of  each  sheet. 
These  poems  are  for  the  4  seasons.  One  page  of  text  concerning  the  100 
Poem  Anthology  and  its  compiler,  the  Deputy  Chunagon  Fujiwara  no 
Sadaiye,  commonly  known  as  Teika.  On  the  lower  half  of  each  page  of 
the  remainder  of  the  book  are  portraits  of  the  100  Poets,  each  inscribed 
with  his  poem.  The  upper  halves  contain  portraits  of  the  Sanju-rok'kasen  ; 
the  Onna  Sanju-rok'kasen  ;  the  54  episodes  of  the  Genji  Monogatari ; 
illustrated  poems  of  the  12  months  ;  illustrated  poems  on  the  10  Buddhist 
regions  or  states  of  existence  (Jikkai) ;  an  illustrated  poem  for  each  of  the 
4  seasons  ;  together  with  several  illustrated  instructions  for  the  upbringing 

215 


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of  girls  and  their  duties  as  wives,  their  accomplishments,  and  so  on.  On 
the  upper  portion  of  the  last  page  are  the  portraits  and  poems  of  the 
Rok'kasen,  and  on  the  lower  portion  the  name  of  the  artist,  Kitao  Kosuisai 
Shigemasa  Tairei  Kitabatake  of  Yedo  ;  the  engraver  Inouye  Shinshichiro  ; 
the  date,  a  lucky  dragon  day  in  the  ist  month  of  the  Snake  year  Temmei  5 
(began  on  February  9th,  1785) ;  and  the  booksellers  Okumura  Kihei  and 
Mayegawa  Rokuzayemon  with  their  addresses  at  Yedo.  Colours  :  blue, 
beni,  yellow,  purple,  light  red,  black,  olive,  light  brown,  and  green. 

9.  Temmei  shinkei  gojunin  isshu  ;  Azuma-buri  kyoka  bunko,  “  A 
new  series  of  50  poets'  stanzas  of  the  Temmei  period  ;  a  bookcase  of 
humorous  poems  in  the  Azuma  (i.e.  Yedo)  style  " ;  1  vol.,  iof  x  7,  in 
salmon-pink  covers.  One  page  repeating  the  title  thus  :  Azuma-buri 
kyoka  gojunin  isshu.  Two  pages  of  preface  by  Yadoya  Meshimori.  Fifty 
pages  each  with  a  portrait  in  colours  of  the  poets  with  their  pseudonyms 
and  one  of  their  poems.  One  page  inscribed  as  follows  :  **  A  second  series 
of  Kyoka  gojunin  isshu  will  shortly  be  published  in  colours.  Artist : 
Kitao  Denzo  Masanobu  (sealed)  Santo  Masanobu  no  in.  Engraver :  Seki 
Jiyemon.  (Date)  The  first  spring  month  of  hinoe  uma  (Horse)  year 
Temmei  6  (i.e.  January  30th,  1786).  Published  by  Koshodo  Tsutaya 
Jusaburo  of  the  south  side  of  Tori-abura  Street,  Yedo.  Colours :  beni , 
dark  green,  sepia,  blue,  yellow,  grey,  light  green,  chocolate,  purple,  black, 
light  blue,  and  Indian  red. 

Note. — The  second  series  advertised  is  not  now  extant,  if  indeed  it  was  ever  published. 

10.  Kaiko  Yashinai  Gusa,  “  The  Cultivation  of  Silkworms,"  1  vol., 
11  x  8,  in  dark  blue  covers.  Two  pages  of  preface  dated  Temmei  hinoe 
uma  haru,  i.e.  the  spring  of  the  Horse  year  in  Temmei,  which  began 
January  30th,  1786.  Twelve  pictures  in  colours,  6  signed  **  Katsukawa 
Shunsho  "  and  6  signed  “  Kitao  Shigemasa."  On  last  page  is  inscribed  ; 
“  A  lucky  day  in  the  first  month  of  the  Horse  year  of  Temmei  6,"  i.e. 
January- February,  1786.  **  Published  by  Mayegawa  Rokuzayemon,  3rd 
street  section  to  south  of  Nippon  Bridge,  Yedo."  Colours  :  purple,  beni, 
yellow,  green,  and  brown. 

Note. — These  colour-prints  were  issued  separately,  two  on  a  sheet,  to  be  divided  if  required, 
some  14  years  previously.  An  alternative  title  is  Sanyo  zu-ye  gwa-ho  no-ru,  under  which  a 
previous  edition  in  book  form  (1  vol.)  was,  according  to  Friedrich  Succo  {vide  p.  77  of  his 
book,  Katsukawa  Shunsho,  1922),  issued  in  1776 ;  but  this  edition  has  not,  so  far,  come 
under  observation.  Still  another  alternative  title  to  the  1786  edition  is  Takara  no  itoguchi. 

11.  Hyakunin  isshu  ;  kokon  kyoka-bukuro,  “  One  poem  by  100  poets  ; 
a  sack  of  ancient  and  modern  humorous  poems  "  ;  1  vol.,  io£  x  7,  in 

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light  blue  covers,  on  the  front  one  of  which  is  the  above  title,  together  with 
the  name  of  the  compiler,  Yadoya  Meshimori,  and  a  table  of  27  books  which 
served  in  the  compilation.  A  double-page  preface  enclosed  within  plum 
and  cherry  blossoms  in  colours  is  signed  by  Yomo  sanjin,  i.e.  Shokusanjin. 
Five  preliminary  pages  as  frontispieces  with  pictures  of  festivals  in  which 
women  and  children  are  shown  interchanging  New  Year  visits,  going  to 
gather  shells  at  ebb-tide  at  Shinagawa,  boy's  festival,  the  tanabata  festival, 
and  the  chrysanthemum  festival — each  with  descriptive  text  and  poems 
above  the  pictures.  Then  follow  the  portraits  of  the  100  poets,  each  with 
his  pseudonym  and  one  of  his  stanzas  inscribed  above.  One  and  a  half 
pages  of  postscript,  and  the  names  of  the  compiler,  Yadoya  Meshimori, 
and  of  the  artist,  Kitao  Denzo  Masanobu.  One  page  with  the  name  of  the 
publisher,  Tsutaya  Jusaburo,  of  Tori-abura  Street,  8th  section  of  the  north 
side  of  the  Main  Street,  Yedo ;  and  a  list  of  10  of  his  publications  for 
sale.  Colours  :  light  blue,  beni,  olive,  black,  grey,  Indian  red,  sepia, 
yellow,  purple,  light  brown,  green,  stone,  peach,  and  chocolate.  Mica 
and  gaufjrage  are  sparingly  used. 

Note. — Though  this  book  is  not  dated,  its  date  can  be  fixed  as  the  spring  of  1787  ;  for,  in 
the  postscript,  mention  is  made  of  No.  9  above  as  having  appeared  last  year,  i.e.  1786,  and 
that  this  year  (i.e.  1787)  the  compiler  has  collected  a  further  lot  of  100  comic  poems  which 
here  appear. 

12.  Saishiki  mitsu  no  asa,  “  The  Three  Mornings,  in  colours  "  ;  1  vol. 
in  album  form,  10  x  7!,  with  a  preface  ( sui-jo ,  literally  an  intoxicated 
preface)  by  Tsuru-tayu,  and  7  prints  representing  scenes  enacted  on  the 
1st,  7th,  and  15th  mornings  of  the  New  Year  fetes — in  this  case  of  the 
year  Temmei  7  which  began  on  February  18th,  1787.  Each  plate,  10  x 
1 5 i,  is  unsigned  except  the  last  representing  the  shop  of  the  publisher 
Yeijudo  Nishimuraya,  which  bears  the  title  and  the  signature  “  Torii 
Kiyonaga  gwa."  The  scenes  represented  comprise  :  (1)  First  writing  in 
the  New  Year.  (2)  Yoshiwara  women  paying  and  receiving  New  Year 
visits.  (3)  First  archery  practice  of  the  year.  (4)  First  opening  in  the  New 
Year  of  a  merchant's  shop.  This  shows  a  ledger  marked  with  the  E-to  of 
Temmei  7.  (5)  First  horseback  exercise  in  the  New  Year.  (6)  Ladies' 
first  bath  and  toilet  in  the  New  Year.  (7)  As  above  noted.  On  the  last 
page  the  signature  “  Torii  Kiyonaga  "  and  the  seal  “  Kiyonaga  "  ;  the 
date,  **  spring  of  the  Goat  year,"  i.e.  1787  ;  and  the  name  of  the  publisher, 
“  Yeijudo  of  Yedo."  Colours  :  red,  pink,  green,  black,  beni ,  light  blue, 
yellow,  orange,  and  grey. 

Note. — This  series  was  also  issued  in  single  sheets  enclosed  in  a  wrapper. 

217 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


13.  Yehon  Mushi  Erabi,  u  A  Picture  Book  of  Selected  Insects/'  2  vols., 

io-|  x  Preface  by  Yadoya  Meshimori,  and  15  double-page  illustra¬ 
tions  as  follows  :  Vol.  1  :  (1)  Three  wasps,  hachi ;  and  a  hairy  caterpillar, 
Kemushi .  (2)  A  grasshopper,  Umaoi-mushi ;  and  a  centipede,  Mukade . 

(3)  A  mole-cricket,  Kera  ;  and  an  earwig,  Hasami-mushi .  (4)  A  dragon¬ 

fly,  T ombo  ;  and  2  white  butterflies,  Cho — the  wings  of  both  species 
glisten  with  mica.  (5)  A  white  caterpillar,  Imo-mushi ;  and  a  horse-fly, 
Abu,  (6)  A  cricket,  Matsu-mushi  ;  and  2  fireflies,  Hotaru .  (7)  A  mantis, 
Toro  ;  and  a  small  grasshopper,  Batta,  (8)  A  cicada,  Higurashi ;  and  a 
spider,  Kumo.  Vol.  2  :  (9)  A  red  dragon-fly,  Aka-tombo  ;  and  a  rice 
locust,  Inago .  (10)  A  snake,  Hebi ;  and  a  lizard,  Tokage — their  bodies 
glisten  with  mica.  (11)  A  basket-worm,  Mino-mushi ;  and  a  helmet 
beetle,  Kabuto-mushi .  (12)  A  noisy  cricket,  Kutsuwa-mushi  ;  and  a  snail, 
Katatsumuri .  (13)  A  singing  cricket,  Kirigirisu  ;  and  a  cicada,  Semi . 

(14)  A  black  cricket,  Korogi ;  and  an  earth-worm,  Mimizu .  (15)  Two 

frogs,  Kairu  ;  and  a  golden  insect  beetle,  Koganei-mushi .  Postscript  by 
Toriyama  Sekiyen.  Last  page  :  Artist,  Kitagawa  Utamaro ;  Date,  the 
1st  month  of  the  year  tsuchi-no-e  Saru,  Temmei,  which  began  on  February 
7th,  1788.  Compiler  (and  selector  of  the  poems  which  accompany  each 
picture)  :  Yadoya  Meshimori.  Publisher  :  Tsutaya  Jusaburo  Koshodo 
of  Tori-abura  Street.  Sekiyen's  postscript,  which  is  sealed  (after  his 
signature)  Toriyama  Toyofusa,  and  is  dated  the  winter  of  the  Goat  year  of 
Temmei  7  (began  November  10th,  1787),  significantly  alludes  to  the  artist 
as  “  my  pupil  Utamaro."  On  the  inside  of  the  back  cover  is  an  advertise¬ 
ment  of  a  list  of  books  already  published  by  Koshodo,  among  which  are 
Nos.  9  and  1 1  above.  Colours  :  yellow,  brown,  greyish  purple,  pink, 
green,  red,  blue,  pale  yellow,  lilac,  and  black.  Gaufjrage  and  mica  are 
used  here  and  there  with  telling  effect.  Besides  the  insects,  each  plate 
contains  some  variety  of  edible  fruit  or  flowering  plant,  as  well  as  a 
humorous  poem  concerning  each  insect. 

14.  Yehon  Waka  Yebisu,  **  Picture  Book  of  Poems  of  the  Common 
People  ” ;  1  vol.  in  album  form,  9^  x  7J,  containing  a  double-page 
preface  and  the  following  5  plates:  (1)  A  nobleman  riding  towards  a 
mansion  where  are  seated  some  court  ladies  and  nobles  and  some  visitors. 
(2)  People  looking  on  at  some  men  performing  the  Lion  dance  outside  the 
house.  (3)  Manzai  dancers  visiting  a  household  on  New  Year's  Day. 

(4)  A  snow  scene  :  Man,  carrying  a  girl  pick-a-back,  about  to  cross  a 
plank  bridge  ;  2  other  men  and  2  dogs  outside  a  house,  from  the  corner 
verandah  of  which  a  woman  is  watching.  (5)  A  monkey  trainer  putting 

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his  animal  through  his  tricks  before  a  party  of  ladies.  A  postscript  by 
Yadoya  Meshimori ;  5  pages  of  humorous  poems  ;  and  the  names  of  the 
artist,  Kitagawa  Utamaro  sealed  Bokuyen,  and  of  the  publisher,  Tsutaya 
Jusaburo,  of  Tori-abura  Street.  Colours  :  pale  blue,  green,  brown,  yellow, 
dark  blue,  red,  light  green,  pink,  brown,  purple,  and  black. 

Note. — Though  1786  is  given  in  the  Hayashi  catalogue  and  elsewhere  as  the  date  of 
publication,  the  book  has  no  date  either  at  the  beginning  or  at  the  end.  Perhaps  the  intro¬ 
duction  of  the  Monkey  in  the  last  plate  may  signify  that  the  volume  was  for  the  spring  of 
the  Monkey  year  of  Temmei  8,  which  began  on  February  7th,  1788.  This  date  accords  with 
the  style  of  the  pictures. 

15.  Yehon  Kwacho  kagami,  “  A  Picture  Book  Mirroring  Flowers  and 
Birds  "  ;  1  vol.  in  album  form,  9!  x  7! ,  with  12  plates  as  follows  :  (1)  Two 
Chinamen  on  the  seashore,  one  leading  a  goat  by  a  rope  and  the  other 
carrying  a  basket  containing  dead  fowls  still  in  plumage.  (2)  Three 
Chinese  by  the  seashore,  one  standing  and  two  seated  on  a  tree-trunk, 
and  in  front  a  caged  bird.  Inscribed  on  the  top  in  Dutch  are  the  words 
“  Chinese  immigrants  from  Nankin."  (3)  Jutai-cho  (a  sort  of  Magpie) 
on  a  pine  tree.  (4)  Gwabi-cho  (a  species  of  Bunting)  and  Cherry.  (5)  Kwa- 
uri  (a  species  of  Bush  Warbler)  and  Peonies.  (6)  Sekirei  (Wagtail),  Iris 
and  Lotus.  (7)  Two  Silver  Pheasants.  (8)  Chikukei  (Quail)  and  Con¬ 
volvuli.  (9)  Hakuto-o  (an  unidentified  bird)  and  Loquat  berries.  (10) 
Jushimai  (a  species  of  Finch — Fringilla  sp.)  and  Maple,  (n)  Yokin 
(Falcon)  and  Camellia.  (12)  Two  partridges  (Shako)  beside  a  cascade. 
Each  plate  is  unsigned;  later  editions  are  signed  “  Keisai  utsushi."  At  the 
end  the  following  details.  These  were  originally  drawn  from  life  by 
Kiyo  Ishosai  Shusen  ;  collected  by  Seki  Yeibun,  and  copied  a  second 
time  by  Keisai  Kitao  Masayoshi ;  after  which  they  were  engraved  by 
Shumpudo  Ryuko  and  published  by  Gungyokudo  Matsumoto  Zembei  in 
the  2nd  month  of  tsuchinoto  Tori  (Cock  year)  Kwansei  1  (which  began  on 
February  25th,  1789).  There  is  also  an  advertisement  of  a  second  and  a 
third  supplement,  which,  however,  were  never  issued.  These  supplements 
are  entitled  in  the  advertisement  “  Raihin  sue,"  which  is  the  title  given  to 
the  album  when  it  was  republished  in  1793  with  an  additional  volume  of 
text  only  and  explanations.  For  particulars  of  the  2nd  edition  see  Sotheby's 
catalogues  of  the  Happer  and  Kington-Baker  Collections  sold  in  London 
in  April,  1909,  and  March,  1916,  under  Lots  398  and  191  respectively. 
Colours  :  red,  green,  yellow,  pink,  brown,  blue,  and  peach,  with  fine 
gauffrage  and  heavy  embossing  here  and  there. 


219 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


16.  Sanju  Rok'kasen,  “  The  Thirty-six  Poets  ”  ;  i  vol.,  iif  x  8£,  in 
pale  blue  silk  covers.  Seven  pages  of  preface  by  Sayama  Chikayuki  ( vide 
note  to  No.  5  above),  who  also  was  the  calligraphist  of  the  poems.  A 
frontispiece  portrait  of  the  compiler  of  this  anthology  Dainagon  Kinto, 
followed  by  a  single-page  introduction  by  Katsu  Shunsho.  Then  follow 
the  36  portraits  of  the  poets,  each  on  a  page,  with  one  of  their  poems  on 
the  reverse  page.  On  last  page  is  inscribed  :  44  Yedo  Jogwasei  Kyokurdsei 
Katsu  Yuji  Shunsho  ;  engraver,  Shumpudo  Ryuko  ;  (date)  Temmei  9 
year  tsuchinoto  tori  (Cock  year)  early  spring  (began  on  February  25th, 
1789).  Published  by  Yamasaki  Kimbei  of  Yedo,  and  also  sold  by  Katsu- 
mura  Jiyemon  of  Kyoto  and  Ogawa  Yozayemon  of  Osaka.  Colours  : 
black,  yellow,  beni,  grey,  peach,  green,  blue,  purple,  stone,  olive,  and 
persimmon  ( kaki ). 

17.  Yehon  Kyogetsubo,  “  Picture  Book  of  the  Mad  Full  Moon  ” ; 
1  vol.  in  album  form,  9^  x  7I,  containing  2  pages  of  preface  by  Kino 
Sadamaru,  5  double-page  illustrations,  and  72  humorous  poems  on  the 
moon.  The  plates  are  as  follows  :  (1)  The  chunagon  Yukihira  on  Suma 
beach  gazing  at  the  moon  and  men  attending  to  the  salt-pans.  (2)  A  party 
viewing  the  moon  from  the  balcony  of  a  Yoshiwara  house.  (3)  A  faggot 
gatherer  crossing  over  a  bridge  spanning  a  waterfall,  his  form  silhouetted 
against  the  full  moon.  (4)  A  mother  holding  up  her  baby  boy  who  is 
pointing  to  the  full  moon  and  another  boy  gambolling  beside  her,  whilst 
her  “  man  ”  washes  vegetables  in  a  stream  in  which  the  image  of  the  moon 
is  reflected.  Hills  in  the  distance  on  the  left,  and  their  hut  close  by  on  the 
right.  (5)  The  Emperor  Genso,  accompanied  by  a  Taoist  magician,  cross¬ 
ing  the  aerial  bridge  towards  the  Palace  in  the  Moon  (Gekkuden).  Signed 
on  last  page  “  Kitagawa  Utamaro  ”  and  sealed  **  Toyoaki  ”  and  **  Utamaro/' 
Dated  the  8th  month  in  autumn  of  the  Cock  year  tsuchinoto -tori  of 
Kwansei,  which  began  on  September  19th,  1789.  Published  by  the  Yedo 
bookseller  Koshodo.  Colours  :  pale  blue,  green,  yellow,  brown,  dark 
blue,  red,  black,  pink,  light  green,  purple,  and  grey,  enhanced  here  and 
there  by  gauffrage  and  metallic  printing. 

18.  Yehon  Gin-sekai,  “  A  Picture  Book  of  the  Silvery  World  "  ;  1  vol. 
in  album  form,  9^  x  7^,  containing  5  plates,  with  a  preface  by  Yadoya 
Meshimori,  dated  1st  month  of  the  Dog  year,  which  began  on  February  14th, 
1790  ;  and  8  pages  of  humorous  poems  at  the  end.  On  last  page  the  names 
of  theTartist  and  publisher  as  for  No.  16  above.  The  pictures  are  :  (1)  A 
court  lady  "rolling  up  the  reed  blind  for  the  Emperor  to  view  the  garden 
under  snow.  (2)  Two  men  towing  a  boat  upstream  (in  graded  black  and 


220 


CHOICE  COLOUR-PRINTED  BOOKS 


grey).  (3)  Shadows  of  people  on  the  shoji  of  a  tea-house,  and  a  geisha 
peeping  out  to  watch  the  falling  snow.  (4)  People  promenading  on  the 
bank  of  a  river  on  which  is  a  boat.  (5)  Children  making  a  snow  dog, 
rolling  a  ball,  and  fighting.  Colours  are  similar  to  No.  16  above,  and  the 
pictures  are  enhanced  with  embossing  and  metal  printing. 

19.  Fugen-zo,  44  The  Image  of  Fugen  ”  ;  1  vol.  in  album  form,  9  x  7XV, 
containing  preface  by  Tsuburi  no  Hikaru,  dated  3rd  month  of  the  Dog 
year,  which  began  on  April  14th,  1790,  with  5  plates  and  10  pages  of 
humorous  poems  at  the  end.  Plates  as  follows  :  (1)  A  procession  of 
courtezans  down  the  centre  street  of  the  Yoshiwara,  and  women  looking 
down  from  a  balcony  on  the  tops  of  the  umbrellas  which  conceal  the 
procession.  The  cherry  trees  in  full  bloom.  (2)  A  picnic  party  of  men 
watching  an  approach  of  women  and  girls.  (3)  Returning  from  the  picnic, 
one  woman  overcome  with  sake  being  helped  along  by  two  others,  and 
men  in  rear.  (4)  Two  women  viewing  the  cherry  blossoms  and  men  in 
rear  with  picnic  materials.  (5)  Cherry  blossoms  at  Goten-yama.  Signed  : 
Kitagawa  Utamaro  ;  published  by  Koshodo.  Colours  similar  to  No.  16, 
with  gold-sprinkled  clouds. 

Note. — Though  the  preface  is  dated  as  noted,  the  book  itself  bears  no  date  of  publication. 

20.  Momo  Chidori  kyoka  awase,  44  Birds  compared  in  Humorous 
Songs  ”  ;  2  vols.  in  album  form,  each  10  x  7^.  Vol.  1 — first  series — 
contains  a  double-page  preface  by  Akamatsu  no  Kinkei  and  the  following 
8  plates,  each  with  a  humorous  ditty  supposed  to  be  sung  by  the  birds 
themselves.  (1)  A  couple  of  Quail  ( Uzura )  and  grasses  on  right  and  a 
Skylark  ( Hibari )  amid  grasses  on  left.  (2)  Japan  Tit  ( Yamagara )  on  a 
bough  on  right  and  Japan  Bush- war  bier  ( Uguisu )  on  a  branch  on  left. 
(3)  Japan  Hawfinch  ( Mamemawashi )  on  a  pine  tree  on  right  and  a  Wood¬ 
pecker  ( Kitsutsuki )  on  trunk  of  same  tree  on  left.  (4)  On  right  a  Cormorant 
( U )  diving  after  a  shoal  of  fish  ;  on  left  2  Snowy  Herons  ( Sagi )  in  a  pool. 
(5)  Japan  Wren  ( Misosazai )  on  a  bough  on  right  and  a  couple  of  Snipe 
( Shigi )  in  a  marsh  on  left.  (6)  A  pair  of  Eastern  Chimney  Swallows 
( Tsubame )  in  flight  on  right  and  a  Green  Pheasant  (Kiji)  amid  grasses  on 
left.  (7)  Jay  ( Kashi-dori )  on  a  branch  on  right,  and  Owl  ( Fukuro )  on  another 
branch  of  same  tree  on  left.  (8)  A  domestic  Cock  and  Hen  ( Niwatori )  on 
ground  to  right  and  Japan  Bunting  ( Hojiro )  on  a  bamboo  on  left.  Last 
page  has  an  advertisement  of  this  book,  and  3  others  of  which  one  is  No.  18 
described  above,  and  an  announcement  inviting  customers  to  inspect 
several  other  choice  picture  books  recently  published.  Then  follow  the 


221 


JAPANESE  COLOUR- PRINTS 


names  of  artist,  Kitagawa  Utamaro,  sealed  Utamaro,  and  of  publisher, 
Tsutaya  Jusaburd,  with  address  as  already  noted.  Vol.  2 — second  series — 
contains  a  double-page  preface  by  same  writer  as  the  first,  and  the  following 
7  plates:  (1)  Falcon  (Taka)  on  right  and  Bull-headed  Shrike  ( Mozu )  on 
left,  both  perched  on  a  plum  tree.  (2)  Manchurian  Great  Tit  ( Shijukara ) 
hanging  head  downwards  from  the  stem  of  a  white  chrysanthemum  on  the 
right  and  Japan  Robin  ( Komadori )  on  a  bamboo  on  left.  (3)  Two  Copper 
Pheasants  ( Yamadori )  on  a  rock  on  right  and  a  Wagtail  ( Sekirei )  below 
rock  on  left.  (4)  An  Owl  (Mimizuku)  on  a  tree  trunk  on  right  and  2  Eastern 
Bullfinches  ( Uso )  on  a  bough  on  left.  (5)  Three  pigeons  (Hato).  (6)  Japan 
Long-tailed  Tit  ( Enaga )  on  bamboo  on  right,  and  three  Japan  White  Eye 
(Mejiro)  on  twig  on  left.  (7)  Couple  of  Wild  Duck  (Kamo)  on  bank  of 
stream  on  right  and  an  Eastern  Common  Kingfisher  (Kawasemi)  on  stalk 
of  a  plant  overlooking  water  on  left.  Last  double-page  identical  with  that 
of  the  first  series  described  above.  Colours  :  Cinder- grey,  pale  yellow, 
black,  bright  yellow,  sandy-brown,  grey,  red,  olive-green,  dark  brown, 
slate-black,  soft  green,  light  brown,  ruddy  gold,  indigo  blue,  greenish 
black,  pale  orange,  pink,  and  a  greenish  lilac,  besides  other  reflecting  tints 
baffling  description. 

Note. — This  book  bears  no  date,  but  probably  appeared  in  spring  of  1791,  as  the  third 
book  advertised  at  end  of  each  series,  viz.  Yehon  Fukujusd,  1  vol.,  in  colours  by  Kitao 
Shigemasa,  was  published  in  early  spring  of  that  year.  A  later  edition  in  3  vols.,  with  a 
preface  by  Hajintei  (the  nom  de  plume  of  Kishi  Bunsho,  a  kyoka  pupil  of  Ippitsusai  Buncho) , 
who  also  signed  Tsumuri  no  Hikaru,  is  dated  1st  month  of  Kwansei  8  (1796).  There  was, 
it  is  thought,  an  intermediate  edition  without  date,  but  about  1793. 

21.  Shiohi  no  Tsuto,  “  Presents  of  the  Ebb-tide  ”  ;  1  vol.  in  album 
form,  io|  x  7^,  with  a  double-page  preface  by  Akera  Kanko,  and  8  plates 
as  follows  :  (1)  People  gathering  shells  at  Shinagawa  bay  at  ebb-tide. 
2  to  7  consist  of  a  variety  of  shells,  seaweeds,  etc.,  lying  on  the  sea-bed 
with  a  wavy  convention  at  the  top  to  represent  the  surface  of  the  water. 
(8)  A  party  of  ladies  engaged  in  playing  the  shell  game  (Kai  Awase)  or  in 
conversation,  and  on  the  left  2  female  attendants,  one  carrying  a  pet  dog 
on  her  shoulders.  Last  double  page  contains  a  postscript  by  Chiyeda  at 
the  request  of  the  circle  of  poets  called  the  Yaegaki-ren,  whose  poems  are 
inscribed  on  each  plate ;  and  the  names  of  the  artist  Kitagawa  Utamaro, 
sealed  Jisei  Ikke  (Self-made  House,  meaning  that  he  had  founded  a  school 
of  his  own),  and  of  the  publisher  Koshodo  Tsutaya  Jusaburo  of  the  same 
address  already  noted.  Colours  :  purple,  red,  pink,  black,  orange,  blue, 
brown,  green,  black,  pearl-grey,  grey,  and  several  indescribable  tints. 


222 


CHOICE  COLOUR-PRINTED  BOOKS 

Gauffrage  and  gold  dust  applied  here  and  there,  together  with  silver  and 
mica. 

Note. — Later  editions  omit  the  conventional  wave  lines.  The  work  bears  no  date,  but 
probably  appeared  in  the  spring  of  1790,  the  Dog  year  of  Kwansei  2,  the  dog  introduced  in 
the  last  plate  possibly  signifying  this  year  ( vide  note  to  No.  14  above). 

22.  Otoko  Toka,  **  Name  of  a  dance  performed  by  men  on  the  15th  day 
of  the  1  st  month  ” ;  1  vol.  in  album  form,  10  x  7J,  in  dark  blue  covers 
with  a  suggestion  in  gold  of  shrubs  and  clouds.  A  double-page  preface 
dated  the  1st  month  of  Kwansei  10,  which  began  on  February  16th,  1798. 
Six  plates,  interspersed  with  poems,  as  follows  :  (1)  A  court  lady  admiring 
a  blossoming  plum  tree  from  the  verandah  of  a  house  ;  signed  “  Hakuho 
son  Yekiga.”  (2)  Leading  the  sacred  white  horse  of  a  Shinto  shrine  ; 
signed  “  Kitao  Kosuisai  (i.e.  Shigemasa).”  (3)  A  courtezan  in  an  interior 
with  her  Shinzo  and  Kamuro  ;  signed  **  Chobunsai  Yeishi.”  (4)  A  lady 
holding  up  a  caged  bird  for  another  to  see,  a  girl  with  a  bag  of  food,  and  a 
female  servant  holding  a  pestle  (an  object  ever  provocative  of  ribald  laughter 
amongst  low- class  women)  in  her  right  hand  for  another  kneeling  in  the 
doorway  to  see,  both  women  concealing  their  mirth  behind  their  sleeved 
left  hands  held  before  their  mouths  ;  signed  44  Utamaro.”  (5)  A  thatched 
hut  beside  a  winding  rivulet  spanned  by  a  bridge,  under  which  a  man  is 
washing  a  basket,  and  upon  which  are  standing  2  men  and  a  woman.  In 
the  foreground  a  picnic  party  of  women  and  children ;  signed  44  Hokusai 
Sdri.”  (6)  A  rain  scene.  Two  men  playing  go  and  a  boy  being  dressed 
by  his  mother  on  the  verandah  of  a  house,  and  a  female  servant  waiting 
outside  in  the  rain  with  an  open  umbrella  ready  to  take  the  boy  out ;  signed 
“  Torin.”  At  the  end  of  the  volume  is  the  date  :  “  A  day  in  spring 
of  Kwansei  tsuchi-no-e  uma,  which  began  on  February  16th,  1798. 
Published  by  Tsutaya  Jusaburo.”  Colours  :  purple,  betii,  yellow,  light 
green,  red,  blue,  brown,  black,  dark  green,  and  cream. 

23.  Nishiki-zuri  onna  sanju  rok'kasen,  “  Brocade  Prints  of  the  36 
Poetesses  ”  ;  1  vol.,  in  album  form,  9!  x  7TV  Three  pages  of  preface. 
A  double-page  illustration  of  7  retainers  of  a  daimyo  crossing  a  plank 
bridge  spanning  a  stream,  one  carrying  a  boy  on  his  back  ;  on  the  further 
bank  3  boys  pointing  and  poking  fun  at  them ;  signed  44  Gwakyojin 
Hokusai.”  Thirty-six  double  pages,  each  with  a  portrait  of  a  poetess  on 
one  page  and  her  poem  on  the  other.  Two  postscripts,  the  last  dated  the 
mid -winter  of  the  Snake  year,  hinoto  mi,  Kwansei  9,  which  began  on 
December  18th,  1797.  Then  follow  the  undermentioned  particulars  : 

223 


JAPANESE  COLOUR-PRINTS 


“  The  foregoing  poems  are  in  the  calligraphy  of  36  young  girls  (not  over 
15  years  of  age),  pupils  of  the  Yedo  ode  composer  Hanagata  Shodo,  and 
were  examined  by  the  master  Hanagata  Giyu.  The  illustrations  are  by 
Hosoi  Chobunsai  of  Yedo  (i.e.  Yeishi),  and  the  book  engraved  by  Yama- 
guchi  Matsugoro  and  Yamaguchi  Seizo."  (Advertisement  1.)  u  Brocade- 
printed  portraits  of  the  36  poetesses  to  be  shortly  published  complete  in 
one  volume/'  (This  is  the  present  work.)  (Advertisement  2.)  44  The 
poems  of  the  36  poets  in  the  calligraphy  of  the  master  Sayama  and  with 
illustrations  by  Katsukawa  Shunsho  has  been  previously  published  com¬ 
plete  in  one  volume."  (This  refers  to  No.  16  in  this  list.)  (Date)  **  This 
work  was  begun  in  the  Horse  year,  tsuchinoe  uma,  Kwansei  10  (1798),  and 
published  in  the  spring  of  the  Cock  year,  kanoto  tori,  Kwansei  13  (which 
began  on  February  13th,  1801)."  “  Published  by  Yeijudo  Nishimura 

Yohachi,  wholesale  bookseller  of  Bakuro  Street,  2nd  section,  Yedo  ;  the 
firm  was  founded  by  Nishimuraya  Dembei."  Colours :  Practically 
identical  with  No.  21,  but  red  predominating.  Gaufjrage  used  in  the  first 
plate. 

A  BRIEF  ACCOUNT  OF  OTHER  C  O  L  O  U  R  -  P  R  I  N  T  E  D  BOOKS 
DEEMED  WORTHY  OF  ATTENTION 

1.  Yehon  Sakae-gusa,  2  vols.;  15  ills,  by  Katsukawa  Shuncho ;  pub. 
by  Izumiya  Ichibei,  1790.  (See  Duret,  No.  134.) 

2.  Yehon  Fukujuso,  i  vol. ;  7  double-page  ills,  by  Kitao  Kosuisai 
Shigemasa  ;  pub.  by  Tsutaya  Jusaburo,  1791. 

Note. — 2nd  edition  entided  **  Yehon  Takara  no  nanagusa,”  was  published  in  1804. 

3.  Yehon  matsu  no  shirabe,  2  vols. ;  24  single-page  illustrations  by  a 
“  certain  person  "  as  related  in  the  preface  by  Musashi  no  Shofu,  dated 
1st  month  of  the  Hare,  Kwansei  (began  February  19th,  1795).  Musashi 
no  Shofu  was  one  of  Shigemasa's  go,  and  probably  he  humbly  describes 
himself  as  a  **  certain  artist."  Other  attributions  are  Utamaro  (very 
unlikely),  Masayoshi,  and  in  Hayashi  Cat.,  lot  No.  1590,  Shiko.  These 
pictures  were  also  issued  as  separate  prints,  when  they  are  sometimes 
signed  with  the  forged  signature  of  Shunsho,  who  died  in  beginning  of 
1793.  A  later  and  much  inferior  edition  with  the  same  preface,  but  signed 
by  Rokujuyen,  is  dated  1802. 

4.  Yomo  no  haru,  1  vol.,  with  7  plates  by  several  artists,  pub.  in  1795  by 
Koshodd.  (See  Hayashi,  No.  1751.) 

224 


CHOICE  COLOUR-PRINTED  BOOKS 


5.  Yehon  shiki  no  hana,  2  vols. ;  4  single  (of  flowers)  and  7  double-page 
ills,  by  Kitagawa  Utamaro  ;  pub.  by  Izumiya  Ichibei  in  1801. 

6.  Haiyu  sangai  kyo,  2  vols. ;  2  single  and  20  double-page  ills,  by 
Utagawa  Ichiyosai  Toyokuni ;  pub.  by  Nishimiya  Shinroku  in  1801. 

7.  Yehon  Imayo  sugata,  2  vols. ;  2  single  and  24  double -page  ills,  by 
Utagawa  Ichiyosai  Toyokuni ;  pub.  by  Izumiya  Ichibei  in  1802. 

8.  Tatsu-no-miya  tsu-ko,  “  Servitors  of  the  dragon  palace,”  really 
fishes  ;  1  vol.  with  30  double-page  ills,  by  Keisai,  sealed  Soshin  (i.e. 
Masayoshi) ;  pub.  by  Suwaraya  Ichibei  in  1802. 

Note. — Care  must  be  taken  to  distinguish  between  this  rare  original  issue,  with  preface  by 
Ichiyosei  Sogwai  and  with  poems  on  the  plates,  and  later  editions  with  same  date,  but 
without  the  preface  and  poems  and  with  such  titles  as  Gyokai-fu,  Gyokai  ryaku  gwashiki, 
etc.,  all  of  which  are  much  inferior.  These  are  not  rapid  brush  sketches  ( ryaku  gwashiki)  ; 
for,  as  the  preface  says,  u  the  rapid  sketches  ( ryaku  gwa)  of  the  master  Kuwagata  Keisai  are 
well  known  to  the  public.  These  only  showed  the  meaning,  but  not  the  reality  of  form ; 
whereas  here  we  find  all  copied  to  the  life  with  each  scale  accurately  and  faultlessly  drawn. 
.  .  .  Keisai  has  with  remarkable  spirit  depicted  the  finny  tribe  leaping  between  the  shores 
as  poems  floating  on  the  waves.  Hence  have  we  called  the  book  Servitors  of  the  Dragon 
Palace. 

9.  Seiro  Yehon  Nenju  Gyoji,  2  vols. ;  19  double-page  illustrations  by 
Kitagawa-sha  Murasaki  Utamaro  with  the  assistance  of  his  pupils  Kiku- 
maro,  Hidemaro,  and  Takemaro  ;  pub.  by  Kazusaya  Chusuke  in  1804. 

Note. — Was  also  published  at  the  same  time  in  black  and  white. 

10.  Yehon  kyoka  yama  mata  yama,  3  vols. ;  28  double  and  4  single-page 
ills,  by  Hokusai ;  pub.  by  Koshodo  Tsutaya  Jusaburo  (II)  in  1804. 

11.  Oson  gwafu,  1  vol.;  with  25  double-page  ills,  by  Hoitsu  (Oson 
being  another  name)  ;  pub.  at  Nagoya  and  Yedo  without  date  by  Yeira- 
kuya  Toshiro. 

Note. — This  original  edition  is  very  rare ;  that  generally  seen  was  published  at  Yedo  by 
Izumiya  Shojiro  in  1817.  The  pictures  are  in  the  beautiful  Korin  style. 


225 


Q 


INDEX  AND  GLOSSARY 


ANCHI,  Choyodo,  193,  196 
ANDO,  KwaigetsudS,  193-196 

Aragoto  =  rough,  violent  acting  by  a  valiant  or  strong 
person  in  a  dramatic  performance,  198 
Asahina  (a  warrior  of  legendary  strength),  15 
Atsumori  (a  young  hero  of  the  Civil  Wars),  61,  75, 
188 

Azuma  nishiki-ye  (Yedo  brocade  pictures),  46,  47 
Azumaya  Daisuke  (publisher),  143 


Bai-o  (g5  of  Okumura  Masanobu),  13,  27 

Baka-gatari  (title  of  a  book),  29 

Bakin,  Kyokutei  (writer),  16,  46,  70,  140,  179,  206 

Bakufu  (government  of  the  Tokugawa  Shoguns),  14 

Ban,  size  ;  dimension.  See  Oban,  Chuban,  Koban 

BANKI  I,  Yenjutei,  in 

BANKI  II,  140,  147 

Banzuke  (playbills),  S,  11 

Bateson  collection,  7,  64 

Beni,  a  rouge  pigment  obtained  from  the  saffron  plant 
Beni-ye  (rouge  pictures),  15,  16,  23,  29,  32,  50 
Beni-zuri-ye  (beni-prints),  29,  30,  32 
Berlin  Kunstgewerbe  Museum,  14 
Bijin-ye  (pictures  of  Beauties),  19,  31,  84,  132,  139, 
144,  147,  148,  157,  179 

Binsashi  (a  device  used  by  women  for  expanding  the 
hair  on  either  side  of  the  bin  or  temples),  69,  74, 
83,  94 

Birds,  prints  of,  20,  24,  63,  64,  160-162 
Blow  collection,  60 
BOKUSEN,  Gekkwotei,  153-155 
Bokuyo  (an  engraver),  47 
Boston  Museum,  19,  21,  65 
Bozu  Kohei  (an  actor),  15 
Buckingham  collection,  45 

BUNCHO,  Ippitsusai,  47-49,  55,  61,  62,  71,  79,  87,  99 

Bunkaku  (go  of  Okumura  Masanobu),  13,  27 

Bunkwado  (go  of  Sukenobu),  14 

BUNKYO,  Sakuragawa,  83,  87 

BUNRO,  Tamagawa,  in 

Bunryusai  (obscure  Ukiyoye  painter),  87 

BUNSHI  (see  Masafusa) 

Bunsho,  Kishi  (a  humorous  poet),  48 
BUNZEN  (see  Toshinobu) 

Burlington  Magazine,  article  on  Hokusai,  173 


Calendar  prints,  37,  43,  45-47,  204 
Camondo  collection,  161 

Cave  of  the  Thousand  Buddhas,  Tun-huang,  liii 
Censorship  and  Dating  of  Prints,  xxviii-xxxv 
Censor  and  Date-seals,  specimens  of,  xxxv 
Chart  of  Ukiyoye  artists,  Samba’s,  86 
Cha-ya  (a  tea-house) 

Chiaroscuro  prints,  liii,  34 

Chieh  Tzii  Yuan  (Mustard  Seed  Garden  ;  title  of  a 
Chinese  colour-printed  book),  liv 
Chichi-no-on  (title  of  a  picture  book),  28,  29 
CHIKAMARO  (early  brush-name  of  Kyosai),  185, 
189 

Chikanobu,  Gyokuyen  (Kano  painter),  72 

CHINCHO,  Hanegawa,  16,  23 

Chinese  Colour-prints,  liii— lv,  24,  63,  64 

Chinese  influence,  24,  34,  63,  76,  159,  161-163,  J72 

Chinese  subjects  in  Ukiyo-ye,  57,  162 


Chiryo-in  Hogen  (homyd  of  Kiyonobu  II),  201-202 
CHOKI,  Yeishosai,  70,  72,  105,  no,  120,  125,  128, 
132,  138,  146,  203-204,  213 
Choshun,  Miyagawa  (an  Ukiyoye  painter),  32 
Chuban  =  medium  size 

Chuban  tate-ye  (medium-size  vertical  print  about 
n"  x  8') 

Chuban  yoko-ye  (medium-size  oblong  print  about 

8"  x  n") 

Churin  (abbr.  of  Churinsha,  a  go  of  Shuncho),  84 
Chushingura  (name  of  a  celebrated  drama  dealing 
with  the  famous  vendetta  of  the  47  Ronin),  13 1, 

149 

Clarence  Buckingham  collection,  43 
Coiffure,  styles  of,  24,  54,  69,  75,  94,  144 
Collaboration  amongst  artists,  116,  188 
Colour-block  printing,  7,  27-29,  51,  175 
Colour-print  in  Europe,  liii-liv 
Copper-plate  engraving,  50,  83 
Crewdson,  Wilson  (on  coloured  ishi-zuri),  64 


Daidozan  Bungoro  (a  boy  wrestler),  108,  138 
Daikoku  (god  of  Wealth),  16 

Daisho  no  tsuki  (long  and  short  months),  xxi-xxvi, 
no  tsuki 

Danckwerts  collection,  60 
Danjuro  I  (actor),  28 

Danjuro  II  (actor),  28,  29,  31,  32,  197-199 

DanjOro  III  (actor),  197-198 

Danjuro  V  (actor),  92,  112 

Danjuro  VI  (actor),  109 

Danjuro  VII  (actor),  ill 

Daruma  (a  Buddhist  patriarch  and  saint),  126 
Denden-taiko  (a  tambour),  198 
Denshiro  (an  actor),  197-198 

Denzo,  Iwase  Kyoya  (real  name  of  Kitao  Masanobu, 
otherwise  Santo  Kyoden),  86 
Diptych  prints,  59,  92,  94,  97,  99,  100 
DOHAN,  DOSHIN,  DOSHU,  193,  195-196 
Duret,  Theodore,  16 


Echigoya  Chohachi  (a  publisher),  157 
Embossing,  55,  148 
Erotic  pictures,  138 


Fenollosa,  E.  F.,  33,  126,  127,  143,  148 
Ficke,  A.  D.,  22,  78,  93,  147 
Field,  H.  E.,  collection,  7,  64 
Flowers  and  Birds,  lv,  160,  162,  175 
Forgeries,  55 

Fude  =  (i)  a  brush  or  hair  pencil.  (2)  One’s  brush- 
work 

Fugenzo  (title  of  colour-book  by  Utamaro),  105,  221 
Fuji  (the  mountain),  150,  154,  158-160,  186,  187 
Fujikake,  S.  (writer),  28 
FUJINOBU  (pupil  of  Harunobu),  47 
FUJINOBU,  Yamamoto,  30 
Fujiyama  seal  of  Hokusai,  154 
Fuki-bokashi-zuri  (gradation  printing),  71,  72 
Fukuba  Toru  catalogue,  12 
Fukubiki  Nagoya  (name  of  a  drama),  12 
Furyu  shiho  byobu  (title  of  book  illus.  by  Kiyonobu  I), 
11 


229 


INDEX  AND  GLOSSARY 


Fuzoku  Azuma  no  nishiki  (title  of  a  print  series  by 
Kiyonaga),  94 

FUSANOBU,  Tomikawa  Ginsetsu,  29,  31,  47 
FUSATANE,  185 

Futari  Kamuro  (title  of  book,  frontispiece  illus.  by 
Shikfi  II  (?),  sealed  Shi  Mon  shi),  203 
Futon  (a  quilt),  45 


GAKUTEI,  Yashima,  139,  149 
Gauffrage  (blind-printing),  see  Embossing 
Geimei=professional  name  of  public  entertainers,  xxxvii 
Geisei  (art  surname  ;  cf.  Gwamyo),  72 
Geisha  (singing  or  dancing  girl),  74 
Gempachi,  Okumura  (O.  Masanobu’s  real  name),  12 
Genroku,  Okumuraya  (0.  Masanobu’s  publishing 
house),  13 

GENSHIRO,  Shimizu,  30 

Gentetsu  (probably  the  homyo  of  Kiyonobu  I’s  eldest 
son),  200-201 

Getsugetsudd  (g5  of  Moromasa),  14,  194 
Gigakuin  Jdgen  Nippo  (homyo  of  Kiyohide),  31 
Gigwa  (drawn  for  amusement),  106,  193 
Giho  (see  Rinko),  204 

Ginsekai  (title  of  colour-book  by  Utamaro  I ),  1 05, 200-1 

Go,  nom  de  pinceau  ;  pseudonym,  73,  199 

GOKYO  (p.  of  Yeishi),  83,  87 

Gompachi,  Shirai  (famous  robber),  58-61 

Goncourt,  E.  de,  155,  161,  162,  172 

Gonshiro,  Izumiya  (a  publisher),  15 

Gookin,  F.  W.,  27,  43,  45,  55,  61,  100,  112,  197-199 

Gorei-ko  (title  of  a  picture  book),  4 

Goroku  (an  engraver),  45 

GOSHICHI,  Harukawa,  143,  144 

Gumbatei  (one  of  Hokusai’s  brush-names),  84 

Gwa,  a  picture  or  drawing 

Gwakyojin  (one  of  Hokusai’s  brush-names),  113,  137- 
139,  154 

Gwamyo  (art  personal  name  ;  cf.  Geisei) 

Gyokujuken  (go  of  Minko),  47 
Gyokuyodo  (a  publisher),  139 


Haikai  (17-syllable  poems),  13 

Haimyo  ( nom  de  plume  of  Actors  and  Haikai  com¬ 
posers,  etc.)  ;  a  literary  name,  xxxvii 
Hakkei,  eight  famous  views 
Haku  Rakuten  (the  Chinese  poet  Po  Chfi-I),  163 
Hakuyen  (haimyo  of  Danjflro  II),  29,  31 
Hambei,  Yoshida  (Osaka  artist),  14 
Hammoto,  publisher 

Han,  a  block  for  printing  ;  an  engraved  block 
Hanamichi  (lit.,  flowery  path)  ;  a  long,  raised  passage 
from  the  back  of  auditorium  to  stage 
Hanaogi  (a  famous  courtesan),  118 
Hand-coloured  prints,  23,  27,  33,  36,  63 
Hangoro  III  (an  actor),  92,  109 
Haritsu,  Ogawa  (Osaka  artist),  28 
Hart,  Ernest,  collection,  175 
HARUHIRO  (early  gwamyo  of  Koryflsai),  49 
HARUMASA,  Horai,  171,  183 

JIARUNOBU,  Suzuki,  liv,  22,  27,  32,  35,  36,  38,  44-47, 
i  49-65.  69,  74.  75.  77.  78,  93.  94,  99,  114,  ”5, 
118,  126,  127,  145,  159,  172,  190,  212 
HARUSHIGE  (Shiba  Kokan),  47,  5°,  62,  63 
HARUTSUGU  (alternative  pronunciation,  Haruji),  47 


Hashirakake,  Hashirakakushi,  Hashira-ye  ;  Pillar- 
prints,  q.v.,  29,  99 
Haviland  collection,  44,  47,  125 
Hayashi  collection,  catalogue  of,  ii,  12,  37,  45,  89, 
I05 

Hayashi,  jar-shaped  seal  enclosing  the  ideograph,  48, 
7i,  85 

Heishichiro  (see  Yamamoto  Yoshinobu),  30 
Hibachi  (a  pan  or  box  for  heating  and  warming 
purposes),  xvii 
HIDEMARO,  138,  140 
Hideyoshi,  Toyotomi,  205-207 
Hikosaburo  I  (actor),  13 
Hiroji  I  (actor),  24 
HIROKAGE,  185 
Hirose,  K.,  175 

HIROSHIGE  I,  71,  87,  143,  172,  174,  179,  183,  185- 
189 

HIROSHIGE  II,  184,  186 
HIROSHIGE  III,  185,  186 
Hiroyuki,  Sumiyoshi  (a  painter),  112 
HISANOBU,  Hyakusai,  140 

Hishikawa  Moronobu  gwafu  (book  of  H.  Moronobu’s 
drawings),  3 
Hissha,  a  copyist,  203 
Hitsu  (same  a  fude,  q.v.) 

Hogetsudo  (go  of  O.  Masanobu),  13,  27,  30,  33,  194 
Hojoki  (a  famous  Japanese  classic),  3 
HOKKEI,  139,  149,  154 
HOKUBA,  Teisai,  112 
HOKUGA,  Hotei,  139 
HOKU-I,  Hakusanjin,  171 
HOKUJU,  Shotei,  112,  139 
Hokuri  uta  (title  of  book  illus.  by  Koryflsai),  49 
HOKUSAI,  Katsushika,  71,  80,  83,  89  92,  112,  130, 
138,  139,  143,  148-15°,  153  166,  172  174,  183, 
188,  190 

Hokusen,  Toyenro,  154 
Hoku-un,  Tonansei,  153,  154 
Holmes,  Sir  Charles,  173 

Hdmyd,  posthumous  name  of  deceased  Buddhist,  5, 

et  pass. 

Hon,  a  book.  Honya  =  bookshop;  bookseller 
Honcho  Ukiyo  gwajin-den  (a  biography),  3,  206 
Hd-d  (a  fabulous  bird  ;  the  phoenix),  119 
Hosei  ron  san  (title  of  a  book),  206 
HOSHO,  Katsukawa,  in 
Hosho  (a  superfine  paper),  45,  69 
HOSHU,  Kamiya  (early  brush-name  of  Goshichi, 
q.v.) 

Hoso,  narrow,  slender 

Hoso,  small-pox.  Hoso-jd  (illus.  book  on  small-pox),  30 
Hoso-ye  (narrow  vertical  print,  about  12" x  6'),  11, 
23,  38,  62,  77,  78,  85,  99,  1 16,  124 
Hoso-ye,  a  picture  coloured  or  printed  in  red,  supposed 
to  ward  off  or  mitigate  the  small-pox 
Howard  Mansfield  collection,  27 
Hoyeido  (a  publisher),  175 

Hyaku-nin  isshfl  (anthology  of  the  100  Poets),  58, 
164,  172,  173,  180 


Ichimai-ye  (=  single-sheet  prints),  3-5,  7,  18,  19,  27, 
90 

Ichimura-za,  5,  no,  in,  145 
Ichi-no-tani,  battle  of,  90 

Ihei,  Fukatsu  (name  of  a  nanushi  censor),  xxix,  141 


230 


INDEX  AND  GLOSSARY 


Iitsu  (one  of  Hokusai’s  brush-names) 

Ikebana  tebiki  gusa  (title  of  a  book  illus.  by  Shiko  II), 
203 

IKKU,  Jippensha  (writer  and  artist),  137,  138 
Inkyo,  (1)  Living  in  seclusion.  (2)  One  who  has 
renounced  his  right  as  head  of  a  family,  199 
Inouye,  Kazu,  31,  200-202 
Ippo,  Hanabusa  (a  painter),  28 
Iroha,  Yoshizawa  (actor),  80 
Iro-ita  =  a  colour-block,  51 

Ise  Monogatari  (romance  by  Murasaki  Shikibu,  q.v.),  lvi, 
6,  164 

Ishida  Mitsunari  (Hideyoshi’s  favourite),  xvii,  206 
Ishi-zuri,  stone  print,  liv,  63-64 
Issan  Domu  (homyo  of  Kiyomasu  II  ?),  201 
Itcho,  Hanabusa  (Kano  painter  of  everyday  life),  130, 
141 

Iwademo  no  ki  (title  of  book  by  Bakin),  206 
Iyenari  (the  nth  Tokugawa  Shogun),  205 


Japan-British  Exhibition,  1910,  catalogue  of,  195 

Japan  Society  of  London,  203 

Jijo,  a  female  attendant,  206 

Ji  sumi-ita  =  ground  ink-block,  i.e.  key-block,  51 

Jitokusai  (go  of  Sukenobu),  14 

Jogenin  Seishin  NichiryQ  (homyo  of  Kiyonobu  I),  5,  201 
JOGETSUDO,  27,  30 

Jomon,  principal  or  permanent  “  mon,  ”  xxxvii,  xxxviii 
JQsaburo,  Tsutaya  (a  publisher),  137  (see  also  Tsutaju) 


Kabuki,  dramatic  performances  ;  plays 
Kabuki  nendai-ki  (title  of  a  chronicle  of  dramatic 
plays),  198 

Kaemon,  alternative  “  mon,”  xxxvii,  xxxviii 
Kaempfer  (historian  of  Japan),  63 
Kagaya  Kichiyemon  (a  publisher),  142 
Kagema,  a  dissolute  and  effeminate  youth  ;  a  cata¬ 
mite,  14 

Kagesuye  (a  famous  warrior),  61 
Kajitori  Uwohiko  (a  painter),  87 
Kakemono,  a  hanging  picture  or  writing 
Kakemono-ye,  a  kakemono-like  print,  22'  to  27" 
high  by  about  12'  wide),  11,  63,  75,  172,  179,  186 
Kako  (one  of  Hokusai’s  brush-names),  84,  112,  131, 
149 

Kamban  =  theatrical  sign-boards  or  posters,  5,  n,  16, 
19,  27,  50 

Kamei  =  (l)  a  family  name  ;  (2)  same  as  yago,  q.v. 
Kamezo  (an  actor),  29 
Kamimura  (a  publisher),  28 

Kamimura  kento  (a  guide-mark  so  named  after  the 
inventor),  28 

Kamo  no  Chomei  (famous  Buddhist  recluse,  author 
of  Hojoki,  q.v.),  3 

Kamuro  (young  girl  attendant  of  a  first-class  cour¬ 
tesan) 

KANAMARO,  140 

Ka-no-kaori  (title  of  a  picture  book),  4 

Kano  School  of  painting,  lvi,  3,  84,  115,  126,  158 

Kano  Yeino,  14 

Kano  Yeisen,  87 

Kantaro  (an  actor),  23 

Kanya  IX  (an  actor),  109 

Kaomise  =  (lit.,  showing  the  face)  a  troupe  of  actors 
showing  themselves  on  the  stage  to  salute  their 
audience  and  ask  for  their  continued  patronage 


Kaomise  kyogen  =  the  theatrical  performance  follow¬ 
ing  the  above,  generally  held  in  the  nth  month 
of  each  year  as  the  first  of  the  New  Year  plays 
Karamaru  or  Karamaro  (Tsutaya  Jusaburo),  70,  73 
Kato  Kiyomasa  (celebrated  general),  206-207 
KATSUHIDE,  170 

Katsuiye,  Shibata  (famous  general),  207 
KATSUMASA,  18 

KATSUMASA  (p.  of  Kunikatsu),  170 

KATSUNOBU,  170 

KATSUSHIGE,  170 

KATSUYOSHI,  170 

Kawaguchiya  Shozo  (publisher),  174 

Kawarazaki-za,  107-109 

Kaza-guruma  =  windmill,  198 

Ke  =  house,  family,  or  line  (e.g.  of  actors) 

Keisei  =  a  name  applied  to  a  courtesan  ;  (lit.,  ruining 
a  castle),  92 

Keisei  yehon  (title  of  a  picture  book),  n,  21 
Kembutsu  Tayema  (title  of  an  illus.  novelette),  80 
Kemono  yehon-zukushi  (title  of  a  picture  book),  4 
Kenkyo-ruiten-sho  (title  of  a  book),  18 
Kento  =  guide-mark  on  wood-blocks  to  secure  accurate 
register,  28,  46,  52 

Kibyoshi  =  yellow-back  story  books,  74,  84,  85-90, 
112 

Kichibei,  Hishikawa  (see  Moronobu) 

KIKUMARO,  hi,  137,  147 
Kikujiro  (actor),  34,  71 
Kikunojo  I  (actor),  20,  62 
Kikunojo  III  (actor),  88,  109 
Kinroku  (engraver),  46 
Kinsei  Seji-dan  (title  of  a  book),  14 
Kintoki  or  Kintaro  (“  the  golden  boy  ”  ;  foster-child 
of  Yamauba),  133,  145 
Kinsaku  II  (actor),  no 

Kirara-ye  (Mica  prints),  23,  106,  108-no,  118,  119, 
124,  125 

Kiri-za  (theatre),  109,  no 

Kisokaido  (highway  from  Kydto  to  Yedo  via  the  Kiso 
river  valley),  178 

Kiwame  (censor’s  seal  of  approval),  xxix-xxx,  115 
KIYOCHIKA,  Kobayashi,  185,  189 
KIYOHARU,  Kondo,  13,  15,  16 
KIYOHARU,  Torii,  18 
KIYOHIDE,  31 

KIYOHIRO,  30,  32,  38,  47,  60 
KIYOHISA,  47,  50,  71 
KIYOMASA,  105-107 

KIYOMASU,  n,  12,  14,  15,  16,  18,  19,  20,  21,  22,  23,  27, 
29.  3i.  32,  33.  35,  36,  37,  38,  39,  71,  121,  199-202 
KIYOMINE  (first  brush-name  of  Kiyomitsu  II),  140, 
147 

KIYOMITSU  I,  31,  32,  38,  47,  48,  50,  60,  62,  99,  140 
KIYOMITSU  II,  140 

Kiyomoto,  Torii  Shoshichi  (actor  and  sign-board 
painter  ;  father  of  Kiyonobu  I),  5,  200 
KIYONAGA,  22,  32,  36,  38,  47,  50,  51,  59,  62,  65, 
78,  8o,  83,  87-91,  93,  101,  105-107,  113-119,  121, 
127,  128,  133,  139,  140,  146,  147,  190 
KIYONOBU  I,  4,  5,  7,  n,  13,  14,  15,  16,  17,  18,  19, 
20,  21,  22,  23,  24,  27,  34,  36,  53,  121,  199-202 
KIYONOBU  II,  n,  18,  20,  24,  32,  33,  37,  197,  199-202 
Kiyonobu  II,  elder  brother  of,  201 
KIYONOBU,  Kondo,  16 
Kiyosaburo  (actor),  72 
KIYOSATO,  71 
KIYOSHIGE,  16,  17,  23 


231 


INDEX  AND  GLOSSARY 


KIYOTADA,  15-17,  23,  27,  35,  199,  200 
KIYOTOMO,  16,  17 
KIYOTSUNE,  14,  47,  48,  60,  71 
Kb,  meaning  of  the  ideograph,  43,  44 
Koban  =  paper  of  small  size 

Koban-ye  =  a  small-size  print,  about  8'  high  by  6" 
wide 

Kochiku  (name  as  a  lay-bonze  of  Moronobu’s  father),  3 
KOGETSUDO,  30 

Kogwa  Biko  (a  biography  of  artists),  31 
KOKAN,  Shiba,  46,  47,  50,  62,  63,  83 
Kokon  shibai  hyakunin  isshu  (title  of  book  illus.  by 
Kiyonobu  I),  5 

Komachi  (the  famous  poetess),  57,  58 
KOMATSUKEN,  46 
Kbmazb  II  (actor),  xxxvii,  109,  116 
Kompira-bon  (a  special  kind  of  book),  16 
Komurasaki  (Gompachi’s  sweetheart),  61 
Kono  Hana  (Ukiyoye  monthly  magazine),  88 
Korin,  159,  225 

KORYUSAI,  Isoda,  29,  47,  49,  55,  60,  61,  63,  64,  69, 
7i.  74.  75.  76,  77,  78,  9°,  93.  175 
Koshi,  Yumoto  (printer),  45 
Kbshiro  IV  (actor),  109,  125 
Kbshodo  (gd  of  Tsutaya  Jusaburo),  69,  70,  194 
Koshoku-bon  (a  kind  of  book),  14 
Kosuisai  (go  of  Kitao  Shigemasa,  q.v.) 

Kotatsu  (a  kind  of  hearth  covered  with  a  quilt  to 
retain  the  heat),  45 
Kottoshu  (a  miscellany  by  Kyoden),  15 
Kumagaya  (warrior),  61,  188 
Kumesaburo,  Iwai  (actor),  145,  146 
Kumetaro  (actor),  27 
KUNIAKI  I  and  II,  183 
KUNICHIKA  (p.  of  Toyokuni  I),  169,  170 
KUNICHIKA  (p.  of  Kunisada  I),  183 
KUNIHANA  (female  artist),  169 
KUNIHARU,  169 
KUNIHIDE,  169,  170 
KUNIHIKO,  169,  170 
KUNIHIRO,  169,  171 
KUNIHISA  (p.  of  Kunisada),  183 
KUNIHISA  (female  artist  ;  p.  of  Toyokuni  I),  141, 

183 

KUNIHISA  (female  artist  ;  p.  of  Kosotei  Toyokuni), 
169,  183 

KUNIKAGE,  169,  170 
KUNIKANE,  169,  170 
KUNIKATSU,  169,  170 
KUNIKAZU,  169 
KUNIMARU,  169 

KUNIMASA  I  (p.  of  Toyokuni  I),  in 
KUNIMASA  II,  hi 

KUNIMASA  III,  Baido  (later  Kunisada  II),  183 

KUNIMICHI,  169 

KUNIMITSU,  141 

KUNIMORI,  169,  171 

KUNIMUNE,  169,  170 

KUNINAGA,  142,  169 

KUNINAO,  12,  142,  169,  170 

KUNINOBU,  169,  170 

KUNINOBU,  Okumura,  17 

KUNIOKI,  169 

KUNISADA  I,  139,  141,  142,  159,  169,  179,  180,  188, 
189 

KUNISADA  II,  183 
KUNISHIGE,  169 
KUNITADA,  169 


KUNITAKA,  169,  170,  171 
KUNITAKE,  169,  170 
KUNITAME,  169 
KUNITANE,  169,  170 
KUNITERU  I,  169,  170 
KUNITERU  II,  170,  183 
KUNITOKI,  169,  170 
KUNITOMI,  169 
KUNITOMO,  169 
KUNITORA,  156,  169 
KUNITSUGU,  12,  156,  169 
KUNITSURU,  169 
KUNIYASU,  142,  169 
KUNIYUKI,  169 

KUNIYOSHI,  87,  142,  179,  180,  183,  188-189 
Kusunoki  Masashige  (warrior),  188,  198 
Kusunoki  Masatsura  (a  youthful  warrior),  197-199 
Kurth,  J.,  18,  24,  105,  107-110,  124,  194 
Kusa-zuri-ye  =  grass-green  prints,  29 
Kuwagata  (real  surname  of  K.  Masayoshi),  225 
Kwacho-ye  =  pictures  of  Flowers  and  Birds 
KWAIGETSUDO,  n,  21,  27,  35,  36,  193-196 
Kwaigetsu  matsu-yo,  meaning  of,  194-196 
Kwajosai  (gd  of  Chincho),  16 

Kwakugetsudo  (gd  of  Toshinobu),  17,  30,  88,  193-196 
Kwakujudo  (gd  of  0.  Masanobu),  13,  194 
Kwozenin  Yodo  Nittatsu  (homyd  of  Kiyomitsu  I),  31 
KYOCHIN,  Seigyu,  31 

Kyoden,  Santo  (writer),  4,  15,  70,  85,  94,  115 
Kyogetsubo  (title  of  colour-book  by  Utamaro  I),  105, 
220 

Kyo-go  =  correction  proof,  51 

Kyoka  =  humorous  poems  of  31  syllables,  105 

KYOSAI,  185,  189 

Kyosen,  Kikurensha,  43 

Kyotaro  (title  of  a  theatrical  picture  book),  12 
Kyozan  (younger  brother  of  Kyoden),  86 
Kyoto  Ukiyo-ye,  14 


Lacquer  prints  (see  Urushi-ye) 
Louvre  Museum,  161 


Mage,  cue  of  hair,  83 

Magosaburo,  Nishimura  (Shigenobu),  16,  17,  23,  27 
MANGETSUDO,  30,  31,  37 

Mangwa  (picture  book  by  Hokusai),  149,  153-157 
Marubun  (publisher  Maruya  Bunyemon),  107 
Maruya  Kohei  (publisher),  70 
Maruya  Seijiro  (publisher),  186 
MASAFUSA,  30 

Masakatsu  (Koryusai’s  real  name),  49 
MASANOBU,  Kitao,  15,  83,  86,  90-93,  105,  115 
MASANOBU,  Okumura,  n-17,  21-24,  27>  29,  31-39, 
43.  5U  55,  63,  64,  83,  no,  119,  159,  194 
Mashiba  Hisayoshi  (Hashiba  Hideyoshi),  206 
MASAYOSHI,  Kitao,  83,  92,  105,  142 
Masugoro  (early  name  of  actor  Danjuro  III),  I97_I99 
MASUNOBU,  Tanaka,  27,  33,  34,  47,  60 
Matabei,  Iwasa,  lvi,  194 
Matsumoto  Zembei  (publisher),  106 
Matsusuke  (actor),  62,  107,  109 
Meijin-ki  shinroku  (a  biography),  3,  205 
Michishige,  Hishikawa  Kichizayemon,  3 
Minami  jfi-ni  kb  (title  of  a  series  of  diptychs  by 
Kiyonaga),  94,  96 


232 


INDEX  AND  GLOSSARY 


MINEMARO,  140 

MINKO,  Tachibana  Masatoshi,  28,  46-48,  60,  212 
Mio-no-Matsubara  (a  sandy  pine-clad  spit,  the  scene 
of  the  No  play  Hagoromo  or  ‘ ‘  Robe  of  Feathers  ”), 
100 

MITSUNOBU,  Shimizu,  18,  30 
Miyako-za,  109 

Mizu  cha-ya  =  tea-house  restaurant,  107,  113 
Momo  chidori  kyoka  awase  (title  of  colour-book  by 
Utamaro  I),  105,  117,  126,  221 
Mon,  a  sort  of  badge  or  device  wrought  in  cloth,  12 
Monjin,  pupil  ;  disciple  ;  follower,  194,  204 
Monnosuke  I  (actor),  24 
Monnosuke  II  (actor),  84,  109,  no,  115,  116 
Monogatari  =  tale,  romance,  history 
Months,  forms  of  numerals  to  indicate  the,  xxvii 
Morikuni,  Tachibana,  164 
Morita-za,  14 

Moriya  Jihei  (a  publisher),  xliv,  206,  208 
MOROFUSA,  4,  11 
MOROMASA,  14,  27,  47 

MORONOBU,  lvi,  3-7,  n,  12,  15,  18,  19,  21,  22,  35, 
36,  113,  138,  163 
MOROSHIGE,  4,  11,  15 
MOROTANE,  14 
Morrison,  Arthur,  liv,  177 
MOTONOBU,  Hanekawa  (Chincho),  16 
Muko  =  a  man  who  marries  into  his  wife’s  family,  201 
MURANOBU,  47 

Murasaki  Shikibu  (Poetess  ;  authoress  of  Genji 
mongatari),  115 

Murasame  and  Matsukaze  (two  sisters  of  a  No  play),  95 
Mustard  Seed  Garden  (Chinese  colour-printed  book), 
liv,  161 


Nagamasa,  Asai  (an  opponent  of  Nobunaga),  207 
Nakamura-za,  84,  198,  199 
Nakazo  I  (actor),  84 

Nanshoku  hana  no  some-goromo  (an  illustrated  book), 

5 

Nanushi  =  headman  of  a  City  ward,  xxix,  xxxii 
NAOFUSA,  170 
NAOMASA,  170 
Narihira  (the  poet),  34,  129,  164 
Nengo,  the  name  of  an  era  or  a  period  (e.g.  Meiwa) 
Nichiren  (Buddhist  saint,  founder  of  Nichiren  sect), 
180 

Nishiki  hyakunin  isshu  (anthology  of  100  poets),  49, 
76 

Nishiki-ori  Utamaro  gata  shin  moyo  (title  of  set  of 
prints),  131 

Nishiki-ye  (brocade  pictures),  90,  113,  117,  129,  139, 
157 

Nishiki-zuri  onna  sanju  rok’kasen  (colour-book  by 
Yeishi),  137 

Nishimiya  Shinroku  (publisher),  138 

Niwaka  (burlesque  performance  by  Yoshiwara  geisha) 

No  (a  kind  of  operatic  drama),  no,  125 

No  masks,  no 

NOBUFUSA,  170 

NOBUKAZU,  170 

NOBUKIYO,  170 

Nobunaga,  Oda  (warrior  and  administrator),  207 
NOBUTOKI,  170 
NOBUSADA,  170 

NORIHIDE  (alternative  reading  of  Doshu,  q.v.) 


NORISHIGE  (alternative  reading  of  Dohan,  q.v.) 
NORITATSU  (alternative  reading  of  Doshin,  q.v.) 
Nukaya  Shichibei  (common  name  of  Ishikawa  Toyo- 
nobu),  17 

Nyudd,  a  lay-bonze,  4 


Oban,  paper  of  large  size 

Oban  tate-ye  (a  large-size  vertical  print,  generally 
i5"xio"  but  sometimes  larger),  38,  39,  69,  77, 
108-110,  124 

Oban  yoko-ye,  a  large-size  oblong  print,  generally 
io'x 15" 

0  Fuji  (a  famous  beauty  of  Meiwa  period),  55 
O  Hisa  (a  famous  beauty  of  Kwansei  period),  106, 
107,  118,  119 

Oiran  =  a  superior  class  of  courtesan,  esp.  of  Yedo 
Yoshiwara 

OKINOBU,  Hanekawa,  16 

O  Kita  (a  famous  beauty  of  Kwansei  period),  106, 
107,  118,  119 

Omezo  (an  actor),  108,  109 
Omi,  Lake,  23,  175-177 

O  Nami  (a  famous  beauty  of  Meiwa  period),  55 
O  Natsu  (a  famous  beauty  of  Meiwa  period),  55 
Oniji  II  (an  actor),  108 

Onna  Imagawa  (title  of  a  book  illus.  by  Shigemasa), 

83 

Onna  sanju  Rokkasen  (36  celebrated  poetesses),  137, 
215,  223 

Onna  shorei  shu  (title  of  a  book  illus.  by  Moronobu), 
163 

Orihon,  a  folding  book  ;  an  album,  105 
Osaka  miyage  Yamato  nishiki  (title  of  an  illus.  book), 
86 

O  Sawa  (female  painter),  12 

0  Sen,  Kasamori  (famous  beauty  of  Meiwa  period), 

55 

0  Sen,  Sakuragawa  (famous  beauty  of  Anyei  period), 

77 

Otani  no  Kata  (wife  of  Katsuiye),  207 
Otokodate  (a  gallant  or  chivalrous  man  espousing 
cause  of  the  oppressed),  38 
Overprinting,  31,  39 


Paper  used  in  Chinese  and  Japanese  colour-prints, 
difference  in,  lv 

Perspective,  European,  35,  83,  90 
Pigments,  7,  15,  31,  39,  52,  54,  55,  77,  78,  119,  157, 
189 

Pillar  prints  (Hashira-ye,  q.v.),  23,  29,  31,  35,  59,  60, 
63,  64,  75,  76,  94,  99,  144 
Printing,  description  of  colour-block,  51 
Prohibitory  edicts,  xxviii,  xxix,  18,  179,  205 


Rantokusai  (go  of  Shundo,  q.v.) 

Renju  =  company,  society,  club,  circle,  43,  204 
Ri  Haku  (the  poet  Li  Po),  164 
Rinkaizan  Betsugan  (a  temple),  4 
Rinko  (printer  ?  ;  same  as  Giho,  q.v.),  204 
Rippo,  Hinaya  (Kyoto  painter),  14 
Risei  (homyo  of  Utamaro  I’s  mother),  74 
Rissai  (a  brush-name  of  K.  Masanobu),  86 
Rok’kasen  (the  Six  Famous  Poets),  149 


233 


INDEX  AND  GLOSSARY 


Rokusho-ye  (verdigris  pictures  ;  syn.,  Kusa-zuri-ye, 
q.v.) 

Rouart.  Alexis,  collection,  113 
Ryaku  gwashiki  (rapid  drawings),  105,  225 
Ryu,  Miss  Yamazaki  (painter),  12,  15 
RYUKOKU,  Shunkyosai,  140,  141,  147 
RYUSEN,  Ishikawa,  4,  5,  n 
RYUSUI,  Katsuma,  29,  44 


SADAFUSA,  169 
SADAHIDE,  169,  171 
SADAHIRO,  169 
SADAHISA,  169 
SADAKAGE,  169,  171 
SADANOBU,  Tamura,  18 
SADANOBU,  169,  171 
SADATAKA,  169 
SADATORA,  169 
SADTSUNA,  169 
SADAUTA,  Miss,  169 
SADAYUKI,  169 

Saigwa  shokunin  burui  (stencil  coloured  picture  book 
by  Minko),  28,  48,  212 
Saigyu  (haimyo  of  Danjuro  I),  29 
Saishiki  gwasen  (title  of  a  colour-book),  28 
Samba,  Shikitei  (writer),  13,  16,  86,  88,  138,  203 
Sambukutsui  (a  set  of  three  pictures  or  prints),  18 
Samisen  =  a  3-stringed  musical  instrument,  206,  207 
SANCHO,  Furukawa,  83,  88 

Sanju  rok’kasen  (36  Eminent  Poets),  colour-book  of, 
49,  106,  137,  220 

Sangoro,  Sakakiyama  (actor),  no 
Sano  Toyofusa  (Toriyama  Sekiyen’s  real  name),  72, 
203-204 

Sanoya  Kihei  (publisher),  177 

Sanseido  (go  of  Tanaka  Masunobu),  27 

Saren  (haikai  composer),  43,  211-212 

Sato,  Shotaro,  173 

Schraubstadter,  C.,  197 

Seal-dates,  xxx-xxxv,  147 

Segen  Jui  (ill.  book  of  Haikai),  43,  112,  212 

Seichoken  (go  of  Kiyoshige),  17 

Seigonin  Sorin  Nichijo  (Homyo  of  Kiyomasu  II  ?),  202 
Sei-o-bo  (the  fairy  queen),  126 
Seiro  (Green  Houses,  i.e.  Yoshiwara  at  Yedo),  127 
Seiro  bijin  awase  sugata  kagami  (title  of  colour-book 
by  Shigemasa  and  Shunsh5),  49,  69,  70,  74,  77,  214 
Seiro  yehon  nenju  gyoji  (title  of  colour-book  by 
Utamaro  I),  74,  119,  138,  146,  225 
SEKIGA,  Kinchodo,  83,  87 
SEKIHO,  139 
SEKIJO,  139 

Sekine  Kayei  (engraver),  44 
Sekine,  Kinshiro  (author),  3 
Sekine,  Shisei  (author),  3,  4,  205 
Seki  Yeibun  (artist),  106,  219 

Sekiyen  gwafu  (title  of  a  gradation  colour-printed 
book),  71,  213 

SEKIYEN,  Toriyama,  32,  49,  71-73,  83,  in,  137,  139 

SEKIZAN,  139 

SEKKYO,  Sawa,  in 

SENCHO,  Tamagawa,  in 

SENCHO,  Teisai,  171 

Senkwado  (go  of  Shigenaga),  17 

Senkwakudo  (go  of  Tsuruya  Kiyemon),  71 

Sensu-bin  (a  style  of  hair-dressing),  83 


Serifu,  a  dramatic  composition  spoken  by  actors 
during  a  play,  197-198 
Sesshu  School,  126 
Settei,  Tsukioka  (painter),  47,  48 
SHARAKU,  Tdshusai,  70,  99,  105,  107-110,  113, 
121-125,  129,  130,  144-146 
Shibai  (a  theatrical  piece  ;  a  theatre) 

Shibai  iro-kurabe  (title  of  picture  book),  5 
Shibai  kummo  zui  (title  of  a  theatrical  book  illus.  by 
Shunyei  and  Toyokuni),  203 
Shibakawa  Genryo  (a  physician),  4 
Shibaraku  ;  an  inter-act  played  by  the  chief  actor 
and  his  uke  or  assistant  usually  on  the  hana- 
michi  (q.v.)  ;  so  called  from  the  exclamation 
Shibaraku,  meaning  “Just  a  moment,”  uttered 
prior  to  the  act,  which  may  be  in  pantomime  or 
dialogue,  197 
Shibui.  K.,  89 

Shidoken,  Fukai  (a  famous  professional  story-teller), 
31,  32 

SHIGEHARU,  Yamamoto,  18,  30 
SHIGEMARU,  169 

SHIGEMASA  I,  46,  47,  49,  61,  69-71,  74,  77,  83,  85-87, 
90,  92,  93,  105,  142,  147,  161,  214-216,  223-224 
SHIGEMASA  II,  140 

SHIGENAGA,  13,  16,  17,  23,  24,  27,  29,  35,  37-39, 
49,  52,  63,  64,  77-79 
SHIGENOBU,  Hirose,  17 
SHIGENOBU,  Ichiyusai  (=  Hiroshige  II),  184 
SHIGENOBU,  Nishimura  Magosaburo,  16,  17,  23,  27 
SHIGENOBU,  Tsunegawa,  18 
SHIGENOBU,  Yanagawa,  143 
SHIGETOSHI,  Yasukawa,  30 

Shih  Chu  Chai  Shu  hua  p’u  (a  book  of  Chinese  colour- 
prints),  liv 

Shijo  School  of  painting,  175 

Shikano  Buzayemon  (author),  5 

Shika-no  maki  fude  (ill.  book),  5 

Shikaku-ye  (square-shaped  pictures  or  prints),  69 

Shika  Shashinkio  series,  Hokusai’s,  162-166,  173 

SHIKIMARO,  140 

SHIKO-  I,  72,  132,  213 

SHIKO  II,  69,  132 

Shiko-Choki  problem,  the,  Note  C,  203-204 
Shikunshi  =  a  collective  name  for  orchid,  bamboo, 
plum,  and  chrysanthemum,  87 
Shimpan,  a  new  publication,  83 
SHINKO,  139 

Shinmyo  (a  gd  of  O.  Masanobu),  13,  27 
SHINSAI  (a  p.  of  Hokusai),  112 
Shinsai  (one  of  Hokusai’s  names),  130 
Shin  Yoshiwara  (the  principal  and  oldest  of  Yedo’s 
licensed  prostitute  quarters  ;  usually  shortened 
to  Yoshiwara),  156 

Shin  Yoshiwara  (title  of  an  illustrated  book),  20 
Shinzo  (lit.,  newly  built  ;  fig.  a  newly-fledged  cour¬ 
tesan  of  16  years  of  age) 

Shiohi  no  tsuto  (colour-book  by  Utamaro  I),  105, 
106,  117,  126 
Shiro,  Torii,  32 

Shiro-nuki-ye  (pictures  picked  out  in  white),  27,  33, 
34 

Shogetsudo  (go  of  the  haikai  composer  Fukaku 
Sen-o),  5,  13,  27 

Shogyo,  Okamoto  (engraver),  47,  48 
SHOHA,  Uyeno,  46,  48 

Shokusanjin  (a  famous  humorous  poet  and  writer), 
17,  69,  141,  206 


234 


INDEX  AND  GLOSSARY 


SHOYU  (a  gwamyo  of  Shunzan),  85 

SHUCHO,  Tamagawa,  hi,  138 

Shunboku  (a  Kano  artist),  liv 

SHUNCHO,  83,  84,  88,  99,  105,  106,  107,  116,  117 

SHUNDO,  Rantokusai,  83,  85 

SHUNJO,  83,  85,  90 

SHUNKO  (p.  of  Shunsho),  71,  78,  83,  85,  90,  99,  100, 
116 

SHUNKO  II,  see  Shunsen,  p.  of  Shunyei) 

SHUNKYO,  141 
SHUNKYOKU,  83,  85 
SHUNKWAKU,  83,  85,  86 
SHUNMAN,  83,  87,  99,  100,  105,  130 
SHUNRI,  in 

SHUNRIN,  83,  85,  86,  ill 

SHUNRO  (first  brush-name  of  Hokusai),  83,  84, 
90-92,  112,  131 

SHUNRO  (late  brush-name  of  Toyomaru),  89 
SHUNSEN  (p.  of  Shunsho),  83,  85,  140 
SHUNSEN  (p.  of  Shunyei),  140,  141 
SHUNSHO,  32,  47-49,  61,  62,  65,  69-71,  74,  76-79, 
83-87,  89,  90,  92,  94,  97-99,  105,  106,  1 15,  1 16, 
121,  122,  129,  147,  161,  2IT,  213-214,  216,  220, 
224 

SHUNSUI,  Katsu  Miyagawa,  32,  48 
SHUNTEI,  1 12,  147 

SHUNYEI,  83-86,  98,  99,  105,  11 2,  115,  n6,  120, 
121,  139 
SHUNYEN,  hi 

SHUNZAN,  83-85,  99,  105,  106 

ShOyen  Ryokyo  (homyo  of  Utamaro  I),  74 

Siebold,  Ph.  von,  155 

Sloane,  Sir  Hans,  63 

SOJI,  112 

Sojuro  III  (actor),  89,  109 
Somei  cemetery,  200 
Sori  I,  1 12 
Sori  II,  1 12 

SORI  III,  Hyakurin,  43,  112 

SORI  IV,  Hyakurin  Hishikawa  (Hokusai),  112,  130 

SORI  V  (first  called  Soji),  Tawara,  112 

SORIN,  Rekisentei,  88,  112 

Sotatsu,  159 

Stein,  Sir  Aurel,  liii 

Stencil  colour-printing,  48,  212 

Stone-prints  ;  see  Ishi-zuri 

Strange,  E.  F.,  liii,  186 

Succo,  Herr,  74,  120 

SUGAKUDO,  185 

Sugata-ye  (pictures  of  face  and  form) 

Sugata-ye  hyakunin  isshu  (ill.  book),  3,  4 
SUKENOBU,  12,  14,  21,  22,  24,  36,  37,  47,  48,  53 
Sumiya  Jinsuke  (publisher),  154 
Sumi-ye  (ink  pictures),  3,  5,  14,  15 
Sumi-sen  no  ye  (ink-line  pictures),  51 
Surimono  (prints  of  all  shapes  and  sizes,  elaborately 
printed  on  extra  fine  paper  and  privately  dis¬ 
tributed  on  congratulatory  and  festive  occasions), 
43.  44.  i°5.  in.  112,  113,  130.  131.  139,  M3. 
144,  148,  149,  204 


Taiko  go  sai  Rakuto  yukwan  no  zu  (title  of  a  triptych 
by  Utamaro  I),  205-208 
TAITO  I  (=  Hokusai),  154,  156,  157 
TAITO  II,  156,  157,  161 
Takao  (name  of  a  courtesan),  14 


Takatsuna  (warrior),  61 
TAKEMARO,  138 
Takenojo  (actor),  14 

Tama-ori  (sweetheart  of  Atsumori,  q.v.),  75 
Tan,  a  red  lead  pigment,  7,  15 
Tanchosai  (a  name  of  O,  Masanobu),  13,  27 
Tanjodo  (go  of  Ishikawa  Toyonobu),  17,  29 
Tan-ye  (pictures  hand-coloured  with  tan),  n,  15,  16, 
21,  23 

Tanzaku  or  Tanjaku  (narrow  vertical  prints  about 
14J"  high  by  6’  wide),  175 

Tate-ye  (vertical  pictures  in  contradistinction  to 
Yoko-ye,  q.v.),  69 

Teishiro  (common  name  of  Kiyonobu  II),  32,  201 
Tengu  (imaginary  mountain  elf,  half  man,  half  bird), 
189 

Tenka  ichimen  kagami  umebachi  (title  of  a  book 
illus.  by  Yeishosai  Choki),  203 
TERUHITO,  169 
TERUNOBU,  Katsumura,  18 
TERUSHIGE,  Katsukawa,  15,  18 
Three-colour  prints,  31,  39 
Toba  (the  poet  Su  Tung-po),  165 
Toi-ya  (wholesale  shop  or  wholesaler) 

Tokaido  (the  eastern  coast  highway  from  Yedo  to 
Kyoto),  138,  139,  149,  150,  175,  176,  185-187 
TOKINOBU,  Kitao  Sekkdsai,  28 
TOMINOBU,  Kwansentei,  171 
Tomisaburo,  Nakayama  (actor),  109,  no 
Tomita,  K.,  21,  44,  45 
Tomotsu  monogatari  (ill.  book),  5 
Torii  family  tombstones,  see  Note  B 
Torii  Kafu  (biography  of  Torii  Line),  n,  201 
TORIN,  Tsutsumi,  in,  140 
Torobin  (style  of  hair-dressing),  69,  83 
Toru  no  Daijin  (Prince  of  the  Blood  and  poet),  162, 
164 

Tosa  School,  lvi,  6,  14,  24,  115 
Tosa  style  of  painting,  3 

Tosei  Yuri  Bijin  awase  (title  of  a  series  of  prints  by 
Kiyonaga),  94 

Toshidama  seal  (of  Toyokuni  and  pupils),  141 
TOSHIMARU,  169 

TOSHINOBU,  Okumura  Bunzen,  15,  16,  17,  23,  29, 
30 

Toshiro,  Katano  (publisher),  153,  155 
TOYOAKI,  Ki-ta-gawa  (first  brush-name  of  Utamaro 
I),  70,  72,  73,  80 

TOYOHARU,  47,  49,  61,  76,  83,  88-90,  92,  105 
Toyohina,  118 

TOYOHIRO,  83,  89,  100,  143 
TOYOHISA,  141 
TOYOKIYO,  143 
TOYOKUMA,  143 

TOYOKUNI  I,  83,  88,  89,  100,  105,  in,  114,  115, 
117,  120,  123,  128-130,  138,  141-144,  155,  157, 
169,  179,  187,  225 

TOYOKUNI  II,  Kosotei,  141,  156,  169,  179 
TOYOKUNI  III  (Kunisada  I),  141,  183 
TOYOMARO,  in 
TOYOMARU,  Kasamura,  83,  89 
TOYOMASA,  46-48 
TOYONAGA,  Amano,  30 

TOYONOBU,  Ishikawa,  17,  29,  31,  32,  38,  43,  48, 
51,  60,  204 

TOYOSHIGE  (see  Kosotei  Toyokuni),  141,  142,  155 
TSUKIMARO  (late  name  of  Kikumaro,  q.v.) 

Tsuneyo  II  (actor),  89 


235 


INDEX  AND  GLOSSARY 


Tsuru-no-hashi  (title  of  a  picture  book  by  0.  Masa- 
nobu),  13 

Tsuruya  Kiyemon  (publisher),  71,  106,  149 
Tsutaju  (abbr.  of  Tsutaya  Jusaburo),  86,  105,  107, 
112,  119 

Tsuta-no-Karamaru  (go  of  above)  ;  see  Karamaru 
Tsutaya  Kichizo  (publisher),  188 
Two-colour  prints,  27,  35,  36,  37,  39 


Uki-ye  (perspective  bird’s-eye  views),  27,  34,  65,  83, 
84,  86,  89,  92-94,  106,  hi,  131 
Ukiyo  gwajinden  (a  biography  of  artists),  46,  206 
Ukiyo-ye  (title  of  a  monthly  magazine),  11,  17,  28 
Ukiyoye  Biko  (a  biography),  88,  89,  206 
Ukiyo-ye  han  gwa  shu  (a  book  on  prints),  28 
Ukiyoye  Meika  Sh5den  (a  biography),  no,  in 
Ukiyoye  no  kenkyu  (a  quarterly  journal),  200 
Ukiyo  yeshi  benran  (a  biography),  88,  89 
Ukiyo-ye  ruiko  (a  biography),  4,  13,  15,  108,  206 
Ukwansai  (go  of  Ogawa  Haritsu),  28 
Urushiyama,  T.,  28 

Urushi-ye  (Lacquer  picture  or  print),  13,  15,  16,  22-24, 
28 

UTAMARO  I,  Kitagawa,  72-74,  83,  91,  93,  96,  97, 
98,  100,  105-107,  no,  113,  116-121,  126-134, 
137-140,  144-148,  157,  175,  190.  See  also  Note  D 
UTAMARO  II,  Baigado,  73,  137,  140,  146 


Vignier,  C.,  186,  187 


Waka  Yebisu  (colour-book  by  Utamaro  I),  105,  218-219 
Wakashu  (see  Kagema),  14 
Wakoku  hyaku-jo  (illus.  book),  4 
WAGEN,  Hanekawa,  16 

Wakan  Royei  Shu  (title  of  a  print  series  by  Hiro¬ 
shige  I),  186 

Waley,  Arthur,  163,  164,  186 

Watanabe’s  catalogue  of  Hiroshige’s  work,  177,  179 


Yagenbori  (name  used  by  Koryusai),  49 
Yago  =  (i)  Name  of  a  shop  or  its  owner.  (2)  Name  of 
a  Line  of  actors. 

Yakusha  butai  no  Sugata-ye  (series  of  actor  portraits 
by  Tokoyuni),  130 

Yamato  (ancient  name  of  Japan),  158 
Yamato  yeshi  (Japanese  painter),  13,  158 
Yamato  Konzatsu  sogwa  (title  of  an  illus.  book  by 
Koryusai),  49 

Yama-uba  (the  mountain  woman,  foster-mother  of 
Kintoki,  q.v.),  113,  133,  144,  145 
Yamamoto  Heikichi  (a  publisher),  141 
Yamazaki  Kimbei  (a  publisher),  69,  106,  214 
Yaozo  III  (actor),  98,  109,  no,  116,  145,  146 
YASUNOBU,  Kishosai  Suzuki,  47 
YASUNOBU,  Nishikawa,  142 
Yasu-no-Ichi  (an' archer),  61 
YASUHARA,  169 
YASUHIDE,  169 
YASUKIYO,  169 
YASUMINE,  169 
YASUNOBU,  169 

YASUNORI  (alternative  reading  of  Ando,  q.v.) 
YASUTOMO  (alternative  reading  of  Anchi,  q.v.) 


YASUTSUNE,  169 

Yatsumune  Taiheiki  (title  of  a  drama),  198 
Yedo  (capital  of  Azuma  ;  present  Tokyo),  3,  S,  n 
Yedo-ye  (Yedo  pictures),  3,  5,  15 
Yegawa  Hachizayemon  (engraver),  70 
Ye-goyomi  (pictorial  calendars),  43,  45,  46 
Yehon  (picture  book),  90 

Yehon  butai  ogi  (title  of  a  colour-book  by  Buncho 
and  Shunsho),  49,  62,  211 

Yehon  Kwacho  kagami  (colour-book  by  Masayoshi), 
106,  219 

Yehon  mushi  erabi  (title  of  a  colour-book  by  Utamaro), 
72,  73,  97.  100,  161,  218 

Yehon  shiki  no  hana  (colour-book  by  Utamaro),  144, 
225 

Yehon  shokunin  kagami  (title  of  a  colour-book),  112 
Yehon  takara  no  ito  (title  of  a  colour-book),  49,  216 
Yehon  Taik5-ki  (a  history  of  the  Taiko  illus.  by 
Gyokuzan),  206 

Yehon  Yamato-zumi  (title  of  an  illus.  book),  4 
YEICHO  (p.  of  Yeizan),  140 
YEICHO  (p.  of  Yeishi),  106 
YEIJU,  106 

Yeijudo  (go  of  publisher  Nishimura  Yohachi),  71,  137, 
161,  194 

Yeikwado  (go  of  Shigenaga),  17 

Yeirakuya  Toshiro  (publisher),  153-155 

YEIRI  (p.  of  Yeizan),  140 

YEIRI  I,  87,  106,  124,  125 

YEIRI  II,  106 

Yeiri,  Busentei,  88,  112 

YEIRI,  Rekisentei,  83,  88,  112,  138 

YEISEN,  Keisai,  141,  178 

YEISHI,  Chobunsai,  73,  83,  87,  88,  100,  105,  106, 
114-117,  120,  124,  125,  127,  137,  140,  224 
YEISHIN  (p.  of  Yeizan),  140 
YEISHIN,  Choyensai,  106 
YEISHO  (p.  of  Yeizan),  140 
YEISHO,  Chokosai,  87,  106,  125,  127,  128 
Yeishun  (Hasegawa  Mitsunobu),  88 
YEISUI,  Ichirakutei,  106 

YEIZAN,  Kikugawa,  139,  140,  141,  147,  157,  171, 
179 

YENGETSUDO,  30 

YENKYO,  Kabukido,  no 

Yenseki  zasshi  (a  miscellany),  16 

YENSHI,  Angyusai,  83,  88 

Yezdshi  (illustrated  books,  especially  novels) 

Yezoshi-toi-ya  (wholesaler  of  above) 

Yokoin  Myogi  Nitten  (homyo  of  the  wife  of  Kiyo- 
nobu  I),  201 

Yoko-ye  (horizontal  picture,  about  10"  high  by  15" 
wide),  n 

Yomo  no  Akara  (go  of  Oda  Nampo,  otherwise  Shoku- 
sanjin,  q.v.),  17 

Yomo  no  haru  (title  of  a  colour-book),  86,  224 

Yonesaburd  (actor),  124 

YOSHIFUJI,  184 

YOSHIFUSA,  170 

YOSHIHARU,  170,  184 

YOSHIHIRO,  184 

YOSHI-IKU,  183 

YOSHIKAGE,  170 

YOSHIKATSU,  170 

YOSHIKAZU,  183 

YOSHIKIYO,  170 

Yoshikiyo,  Omori,  14 

YOSHIMARU,  140 


236 


INDEX  AND  GLOSSARY 


YOSHIMI,  170 
YOSHIMORI,  184 
YOSHINOBU  I,  170 
YOSHINOBU  II,  184 
YOSHINOBU,  Fujikawa,  18 
YOSHINOBU,  Komai,  47 
YOSHINOBU,  Tamura,  17,  47 
YOSHINOBU,  Yamamoto,  18,  30,  47 
YOSHITOMI,  170 
YOSHITORA,  183 
YOSHITOSHI,  184 
YOSHITOYO,  184 
YOSHITSURA,  184 
YOSHITSUYA,  184 

Yoshiwara  (the  principal  licensed  prostitute  quarter 
of  Yedo),  21,  56,  69,  73,  74,  1 13,  156 


Yoshiwara  beauties,  book  of,  21 

Yoshiwara  keisei  shin  bijin  awase  jihitsu  kagami 
(title  of  a  colour-book),  86,  91-93,  214-215 
Yoshiyuki,  Harada  (printer),  47 
Yuchiku  (Moronobu's  name  as  a  nyfldo,  q.v.),  4 
YUKIMARO,  hi 

Yukyo  (2nd  personal  name  of  Sukenobu),  14 
Yurin  (Sharaku’s  name  as  painter),  107 
Yushido  (go  of  Shuncho),  84 
Yusuke  (personal  name  of  Utamaro  I),  72 
Yusuke  (1st  personal  name  of  Sukenobu),  14 


Za  (suffix  to  names  of  theatres) 

Zoho  Ukiyoye  ruiko  (biographical  work),  49,  ill 


Made  and  Printed  in  Great  Britain  at 
The  Mayflower  Press,  Plymouth.  William  Brendon  &  Son,  Ltd. 


PLATE  I 


MANGETSUDO.  Hatsu-yume  sambukutsui,  “  The 
first  dream  in  the  New  Year,  a  set  of  three  ” 
(right-hand  sheet).  A  girl  placing  a  hairpin 
in  her  hair  by  the  aid  of  a  hand-mirror 
(c.  1746). 


O’Brien  Sexton  Collection 


PLATE  II 


HARUNOBU.  Two  girls  drying  cotton  thread  (c.1767), 

Shannon  and  Ricketts  Collection 


PLATE  III 


HARUNOBU.  Two  girls  on  a  verandah  (c.  1768). 

Shannon  and  Ricketts  Collection. 


2^' 


PLATE  IV 


IPPITSUSAI  BUNCHO.  Segawa  Kikunojo  II  as  a 
girl  standing  on  a  bank  under  an  open  um¬ 
brella  on  a  dark  night ;  a  cluster  of  asters  in 
the  background  (c.  1769). 


Oscar  Raphael  Collection. 


PLATE  V 


KORYUSAI  (unsigned).  A  Falcon  standing  on  a  rock 
at  night  (c.  1772). 


British  Museum. 


PLATE  VI 


KORYU  (i.c.  Koryusai).  The  tea-house  waitress  and 
celebrated  Yedo  beauty  of  the  Anyei  period, 
Sakuragawa  O  Sen,  bringing  a  cup  of  tea  to 
a  guest  (c.  1776). 


British  Museum. 


PLATE  VII 


SHIGEMASA  (unsigned).  A  geisha  with  her  maid  on 
her  way  to  fulfil  an  engagement  (c.  1777). 

British  Museum. 


PLATE  VIII 


UTAMARO  I.  Shiki  asobi  hana  no  iroka,  “  Diversions 
of  the  four  seasons  ;  the  colour  and  fragrance 
of  flowers."  A  party  about  to  enjoy  “  river 
cooling  ”  in  a  covered  boat  during  a  hot 
summer  afternoon  (c.  1780). 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection. 


PLATE  IX 


KIYONAGA.  Four  women  leaving  a  shrine  ;  a  pro¬ 
cession  passing  along  an  embankment  in  the 
background  (c.  1788). 

British  Museum. 


PLATE  X 


SHUNCHO.  To-zai-nam-boku  bijin,  “  Beauties  of 
the  east,  west,  south,  and  north.”  A  girl 
dozing  (c.  1790). 

British  Museum. 


PLATE  XI 


SHARAKU.  The  actor  Shokwaku  (i.e.  Matsumoto 
Yonesaburo)  as  a  woman  carrying  a  kettle 
(c.  1794). 


Oscar  Raphael  Collection. 


PLATE  XII 


CHOKI.  A  woman  on  the  verandah  at  the  rear  of  a 
house  overlooking  the  sea  admiring  the  sun¬ 
rise  on  the  first  dawn  of  the  New  Year.  Mica 
sky  (c.  1794)- 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection. 


PLATE  XIII 


YEISHI  (unsigned).  Seiro  bi-sen  awase,  “  A  com¬ 
parison  of  selected  Green  House  beauties. 

The  oiran  Takigawa  of  Ogi-ya  dressed  to 
receive  a  new  guest  "  (c.  1794). 

British  Museum. 


PLATE  XV 


ZEN  HOKUSAI  I-ITSU. 
(c.  1830). 


Convolvuli  and  tree-frog 

Bateson  Collection. 


PLATE  XVI 


HIROSHIGE  I.  Nagakubo;  Station  No.  28  on  the 
Kisokaido  (c.  1838). 

Oscar  Raphael  Collection. 


PLATE  XVII 


MORONOBU  (unsigned).  Kado-bi  or  “  Gate-fire  ” 
kindled  by  chugen  or  samurai's  attendants  at 
the  gate  of  his  mansion  and  women  about  to 
arrange  rice-cakes  ( uchi-awase  no  mochi )  be¬ 
fore  the  Tsumado  (wooden  gate  with  pair  of 
leaves  opening  on  hinges),  in  preparation  for 
the  coming  of  the  bride  in  her  koshi  or  palan¬ 
quin.  A  single-page  illustration  from  Onna 
shorei  shu,  7  vols.,  published  in  1660. 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection. 


PLATE  XVIII 


MORONOBU.  “  Types  of  concubines.”  A  single¬ 
page  illustration  from  Ukiyo  Hyakunin  onna, 

“  One  hundred  women  of  the  Floating 
World,”  i  vol.,  published  in  1681. 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection. 


PLATE  XIX 


Fig.  i.  MORONOBU  (unsigned).  A  party  of  women 
followed  by  their  servants,  returning  from 
a  flower-viewing  picnic  ;  and  a  samurai  and 
his  retainers  going  in  the  opposite  direction. 

From  a  series  of  Kyoto  views.  Sumi-ye 
coloured  by  hand  in  tan  and  faint  green 
(c.  1675)- 

O’Brien  Sexton  Collection. 


Fig.  2.  TORII  KIYONOBU  I  (unsigned).  Sheet 
No.  7  of  a  twelve-sheet  composition  repre¬ 
senting  the  procession  of  the  Korean 
Ambassador  and  his  retinue  escorted  by 
Japanese  servants  and  a  bodyguard  of 
samurai  upon  his  arrival  in  Yedo.  Sumi-ye, 
coloured  by  hand  in  dear  yellows,  olives,  pale 
red,  and  black.  Published  by  Tsuruya 
Kiyemon  at  Yedo  (c.  1709). 

Bateson  Collection. 


-t 


b 


PLATE  XX 


Fig.  i. 


TORII  KIYOMASU  I.  Ichimura  Takenojo 
and  Sanjo  Kantaro  as  Kanemichi  and  O  Saku 
respectively  in  a  scene  from  an  unidentified 
play.  Hand-coloured  in  black  and  yellow, 
with  a  sprinkling  of  metallic  powder  and 
details  slightly  embossed  (c.  1715). 

O’Brien  Sexton  Collection. 


Fig.  2.  TORII  KIYONOBU  I.  The  actor  Fujimura 
Handayu  in  an  unidentified  female  role. 

Coloured  by  hand  in  rose,  yellow,  olive,  pale 
blue,  and  purple  (1719). 

Bateson  Collection. 


PLATE  XXI 


Fig.  i. 


NISHIMURA  SHIGENAGA.  A  girl  as  a  Fig.  2. 

fumi-uri  or  letter-vendor.  Hand-coloured  in 
lacquered  kurenai  (pink  or  scarlet),  yellow, 
and  indigo-blue,  with  metallic  powdering  on 
the  baskets  (c.  1728). 

O’Brien  Sexton  Collection. 


OKUMURA  MASANOBU.  Sanjo  Kantaro 
in  an  unidentified  female  role.  Coloured  by 
hand  in  rose,  yellow,  olive,  pale  blue,  with  a 
sprinkling  of  metallic  powder  (c.  1724). 

British  Museum. 


PLATE  XXII 


Fig.  i 


TORII  KIYOMASU.  Segawa  Kikujiro  as 
the  keisei  (lit.  castle-ruiner,  a  term  formerly 
applied  to  first-class  courtesans)  Katsuragi 
in  the  play  “  Kichirei  Imagawa  jo,”  produced 
at  the  Ichimura  theatre  kaomise  at  the  close  of 
1740.  Hand-coloured  in  blue,  yellow,  brown, 
and  lacquered  beni  and  black — the  whole 
freely  sprinkled  with  gold  dust. 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection. 


Fig.  3.  TORII  KIYOHIRO.  A  woman  squeezing 
water  from  her  juban  or  under-garment. 

Printed  in  green  and  rose  (c.  1757). 

British  Museum. 


PLATE  XXIII 


Fig.  i.  TORII  KIYOMASU.  Sanogawa  Ichimatsu  I  Fig.  2. 

as  Ushiwaka  (f)  and  Matsumoto  Koshiro  III 
as  a  rich  man  presenting  him  with  a  cup  of 
sake  on  a  sambo.  Printed  in  green,  yellow, 
and  pink  (two  shades)  (c.  1754-5). 

British  Museum. 


HOGETSUDO  OKUMURA  BUNKAKU 
MASANOBU.  Actors  Nakamura  Tomi- 
saburo  and  Yamashita  Kinsaku  I,  the  latter 
as  Ayame-no  Inaye,  looking  down  on  the 
former  as  her  maid.  Printed  in  green  and 
rose  (c.  1742). 

British  Museum. 


PLATE  XXIV 


TANJODO  ISHIKAWA  SHUHA  TOYONOBU. 

Sanogawa  Ichimatsu  I  and  Nakamura  Kume- 
taro  I  as  O  Shichi  and  Kichisaburo  in  the 
play  “  Itsu  kosode  shobai  kagami,''  produced 
at  the  Nakamura  theatre  in  February,  1751. 
Printed  in  green  and  rose  ( beni ). 


British  Museum. 


IB  vV  ^ 


PLATE  XXV 


TORII  KIYOMITSU  I.  Nakamura  Matsuye  and  Se- 
gawa  Kikunojo  II  as  Hanshichi  and  O  Hana 
respectively,  probably  in  the  play  “  Amatsu- 
kaze  nenriki  Soga,”  produced  at  the  Naka¬ 
mura  theatre  in  February,  1765.  Printed  in 
pale  olive  (once  green),  pale  red  (once  beni), 
yellow,  and  warm  green  produced  by  printing 
green  over  pink. 

British  Museum. 


PLATE  XXVI 


Fig.  i.  HARUNOBU  (unsigned).  Furyu  yatsushi 
Komachi ;  sekidera,  “  Refined  Komachi  a 
la  mode  ;  entering  the  temple.”  A  woman, 
holding  a  bucket  of  water  on  her  head,  leads 
a  little  boy.  Printed  in  green,  red,  and  buff- 
yellow  (c.  1767). 

British  Museum. 


Fig.  2.  KITAO  SHIGEMASA  I.  Ukiyo  mutsu  Tama- 
gawa,  dai  ichi ;  Yamashiro,  Shunzei,  "  An 
Ukiyo  version  of  the  six  Tama  rivers " : 

No.  1  ;  Yamashiro  (province),  (poem  by) 

Shunzei.  A  mounted  samurai  youth  watering 
his  horse  at  the  river,  and  a  yakko  pointing  out 
the  direction  of  the  ford.  Printed  in  blue, 
red,  green,  and  yellow  on  a  light-grey  ground 
(c.  1766). 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection. 


PLATE  XXVII 


MINKO  (unsigned).  A  woman  with  loosened  hair  and 
holding  a  bucket  of  water  on  her  head  with 
one  hand  leads  a  gambolling  boy  with  the 
other.  Printed  in  deep  slate-blue,  yellow, 
red,  pearl-grey,  orange,  and  buff  (c.  1767). 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection. 


d 


PLATE  XXVIII 


Fig.  i.  KITA-GAWA  TOYOAKI  (afterwards 
Utamaro  I).  Yoshizawa  Iroha  as  O  Sato,  the 
daughter  of  Sushiya  in  the  play  “  Sembon- 
zakura,"  produced  at  the  Nakamura  theatre 
from  the  8th  month  of  1777.  Printed  in  blue, 
yellow,  purple,  green,  pink,  and  red. 


Fig.  2.  SHUNCHO.  A  woman  with  loosened  hair 
returning  along  the  sands  with  a  basket  of 
edible  seaweeds  gathered  at  ebb-tide. 
Printed  in  lemon-yellow,  brown,  and  cream 
(c.  1785.) 


British  Museum. 


O'Brien  Sexton  Collection. 


PLATE  XXIX 


SHUNSHO.  Yamashita  Kinsaku  II  in  a  female  role 
and  Onoye  Matsusuke  in  a  male  role.  Printed 
in  Indian  red,  pink  tan,  tawny  brown,  and 
grey  (c.  1779)- 

British  Museum. 


JK'W 


PLATE  XXX 


SHUNRO  (afterwards  Hokusai).  Yayoi  no  Hinagata, 

“  Late  Spring  designs.”  Four  oiran  of  Cho- 
jiya,  viz.  Wakagusa  and  Karagoto  standing, 
and  Tsumagiku  and  Asagiku  seated.  Printed 
in  green,  yellow,  pink,  and  purple  (c.  1781). 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection. 


PLATE  XXXI 


KIYONAGA.  A  young  girl  practising  penmanship, 
with  two  women  in  attendance.  Printed  in 
green,  yellow,  pink,  purple,  and  orange. 

Tablet  to  left  dated  Hare,  3rd  month,  equiva¬ 
lent  here  to  April,  1783. 

British  Museum. 


PLATE  XXXII 


Fig.  X. 


SHUNSHO.  Ichikawa  Monnosuke  II  as  a  Fig.  2. 

rustic.  Printed  in  black  and  lemon-yellow, 
with  touches  of  brownish  red  (c.  1791). 

British  Museum. 


KIYONAGA.  The  actors  Nakamura  Nakazo  I 
and  Azuma  Tozo  III  in  private  attire. 

Printed  in  pink,  green,  grey,  olive,  black 
(c.  1784). 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection. 


PLATE  XXXIII 


SHUNKO.  Actors  Ichikawa  Monnosuke  II  as  Mune- 
sada,  standing  fan  in  hand,  and  Nakamura 
Nakazo  I  as  Otomo  no  Kuronushi,  disguised 
as  Sekibei,  standing  leaning  on  an  axe,  are 
looking  down  at  Segawa  Kikunojo  III  as  the 
keisei  Sumizome  in  a  Sekinoto  shosa  (mimetic 
act)  following  the  play  “  Komachi-zakura,” 
produced  at  the  Kiri-za  theatre  at  the  close 
of  1784.  Printed  in  slate-purple,  green,  red, 
pink,  and  yellow. 


British  Museum. 


PLATE  XXXIV 


SHUNYEI.  Actor  Ichikawa  Komazo  II  as  Sadakuro  in 
the  play  “  Chuto  Ryogoku  ori,”  produced  at 
the  Nakamura  theatre  in  August,  1790. 

Printed  in  yellow,  blue,  green,  and  grey. 

British  Museum. 


PLATE  XXXV 


UTAMARO  I.  A  woman  standing  outside  a  mosquito 
net,  inside  of  which  a  man  is  seated  pipe  in 
hand.  Printed  in  purple  and  green  (c.  1795). 

Shannon  and  Ricketts  Collection. 


/ 


PLATE  XXXVI 


UTAMARO  I.  Dembei  nyobo  O  Shun  no  So,  "  The 
physiognomy  of  O  Shun,  the  wife  of  Dem¬ 
bei.”  Printed  in  grey  and  black,  red  on  lips, 
blue  pattern  on  dress  (c.  1796). 


Bateson  Collection. 


PLATE  XXXVII 


UTAMARO  I.  Shibata  Shurishin  Katsuiye  being  pre¬ 
sented  with  his  battle  sword  by  his  wife  Otani 
no  kata,  to  whom  he  shows  his  dirk  to  signify 
his  determination  to  kill  her  and  himself 
rather  than  fall  into  the  Taiko’s  hands.  Two 
retainers  in  the  background.  Printed  in  red, 
green,  yellow,  purple  (c.  1805). 

Note. — This  and  No.  38  are  two  of  three  known 
prints  which  are  believed  to  have  been  the 
real  cause  of  the  artist’s  imprisonment  and 
confinement  to  his  own  house  under  fetters. 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection. 


PLATE  XXXVIII 


UTAMARO  I.  Mashiba  Hisayoshi  (i.e.the  TaikoToyo- 
tomi  Hideyoshi)  receiving  in  audience  his 
favourite  Ishida  Mitsunari,  a  retainer  and 
female  attendant  in  rear.  Printed  in  purple, 
red,  yellow,  green  (c.  1805). 


O'Brien  Sexton  Collection. 


PLATE  XXXIX 


TOYOKUNI  I.  Jin-gi-rei-chi-shin  ;  Chi,  "  The  five 
cardinal  virtues  :  Humanity,  righteousness, 
politeness,  wisdom,  faith  ;  wisdom.”  Printed 
in  purple,  red,  yellow,  green  (c.  1794). 

British  Museum. 


PLATE  XL 


TOYOKUNI  I.  An  actor  as  a  groom,  carrying  in  one 
hand  a  votive  picture  of  a  horse.  Printed  in 
purple,  black,  red,  grey-blue,  and  yellow 
(c.  1800). 

British  Museum. 


PLATE  XLI 


SHIKO  (II  0.  Fujin  kai-some  no  zu,  “  A  picture  of 
women’s  first  (New  Year)  purchases.”  Three 
women  seated  around  a  Hibachi  upon  which 
a  kettle  is  heating  ;  one  with  a  box  of  cos¬ 
metics,  a  second  with  a  scent  satchet,  and  a 
third  holding  a  binsashi  (a  contrivance  for 
projecting  the  hair  of  the  bin  or  temples 
in  a  curve  on  either  side  of  the  head).  Printed 
in  black,  green,  purple,  and  yellow.  Seal- 
dated  Monkey  (year)  first  (month),  in  this 
case  equivalent  to  January  25,  1800. 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection. 


PLATE  XLII 


HOKUSAI  and  GWAKYOJIN  HOKUSAI.  Two 
prints  (Okazaki  and  Kanagawa  Stations)  from 
the  first  edition  of  the  set  of  quarter-block 
Tokaido  views  issued  in  the  beginning  of 
1804,  enclosed  in  a  wrapper.  The  upper  one 
printed  in  blue,  green,  and  pink ;  the  lower 
one  in  purple,  pink,  and  green. 

O'Brien  Sexton  Collection. 


PLATE  XLIII 


GOTOTEI  KUNISADA.  Hoshi  no  shimo ;  Tosei 
fuzoku,  "  Starry  frost ;  present-day  cus¬ 
toms.”  A  girl  in  night  attire  trimming  an 
andon.  Printed  in  pink,  green,  blue,  and 
light  grey  (c.  1816). 


O'Brien  Sexton  Collection. 


h 


PLATE  XL  IV 


HIROSHIGE  I.  Wakan  royei  shu, 
Chinese  recitative  poems.” 
and  Lake.  Printed  in  blue, 
(c.  1837). 


"  Japanese  and 
Moon,  Rocks, 
green,  brown 


O'Brien  Sexton  Collection. 


PLATE  XLV 


ICHIYUSAI  KUNIYOSHI.  Central  sheet  of  a  trip¬ 
tych  depicting  the  last  fight  of  the  Kusunoki 
at  Shijo  Nawate.  Masatomo  glaring  from 
under  the  white  streamers  of  the  shattered 
standard  which  he  grasps.  Printed  in  grey, 
yellow,  green,  purple  (c.  1845). 

British  Museum. 


PLATE  XL VI 


Fig.  i.  YEISEN.  A  springtime  view  of  the  shrine  of 
Benten  in  the  Shinobazu  Pond  at  Yedo. 

Printed  in  blue,  green,  red,  olive,  pink,  and 
grey  (c.  1841). 

British  Museum. 


Fig.  3.  KOBAYASHI  KIYOCHIKA.  O  Cha-no- 
mizu  Hotaru,  “  Fire-flies  on  the  Tea-water 
canal.”  Printed  in  shades  of  black,  yellow, 
red  (c.  1880). 


O’Brien  Sexton  Collection. 


* 


I 


X 


B614J  148420  * 


